Splinters, Part 1: Divided
by PkmnLegacy
Summary: Team Rocket are back, and the Pokemon Association are implementing new restrictive laws. As the dexholders are divided over which side to choose in the conflict, tensions arise. Will they all survive the turmoil to come?
1. Chapter 1

AUTHORS NOTE: Since I have finished Dark Fire (and kinda lost the storyline somewhere on the alternate ending version I started with, so that is on hold) I wanted to try writing another epic story. "Splinters" will be in two or three parts, not decided yet.

Contains dexholders from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.

Longer summary:

_While the dexholders gather in Yellow's house for a party, dark forces move around the nation. Team Rocket has been brought back under Giovanni's capable hand, while the Pokemon Association is enforcing new restrictive laws to deal with this new threat. Laws that not everyone agrees with. _

_As the situation develops, who will take which side? Can the Association keep in one piece, and will old friendships break under the strain of clashing views and duties?  
_

* * *

"Listen Green, I am not against the Association having _some_ surveillance, like cameras in public places," Red was saying as Gold and Crystal entered Yellow's house. "But they are going way too far with this new law."

"It is perfectly natural to-"

"Green!" Blue interrupted. "They want to force us to register all our Pokemon and our current team! They want us to tell them about every single battle we are in so they can judge if we qualify as 'combat trained', so they can keep an extra eye on us!"

"Well maybe that is a good idea. After all, Team Rocket would not exist if there had been more control. In a way, they are the reason this law came into being."

"Except the fact that, you know, Association members are excepted from the law and all gym leaders are automatically counted as Association members. If they want to keep things like Team Rocket from happening, why do they not let themselves be put under surveillance?"

Yellow, who was just on the way back into the room after getting some drinks from the kitchen, cringed when she heard that the argument was still going on. Blue and Green had been at each others throats about the new law ever since it was announced, and with herself and Red somewhere between their rather extreme views, things did not look as if they were going to get better anytime soon.

"Yo guys!" Gold said, waving frantically as he entered the room. Crystal smiled and rolled her eyes at his loudness.

"The others are not here yet?" Crystal asked as they had settled down.

"Ruby and Sapphire will arrive later tonight, Wally probably a bit after that," Emerald said. He had already been in Kanto when the dexholder meet-up had been decided, training with Green at the gym.

"The guys from Sinnoh will be here tomorrow," Yellow told her. "Their train got delayed, I think. Still a couple of days until the actual meet-up though."

"It's great to see everyone. You have done a good job with this, Yellow," Red said, smiling at her. Yellow blushed furiously, while Blue choked a laugh at her friends oh-so-obvious reaction and Reds obliviousness.

"It's nothing, really!" Yellow said, hurrying out into the kitchen. Blue followed her out, intending to tease the younger girl a bit about what had just transpired.

"Crystal," Green said as soon as Blue had left the room. "You agree that the new surveillance laws are needed, right? You are a sensible woman."

"I agree we need some more controls," Crystal said carefully, giving Gold a glance. "But I think this law might be taking it a little bit too far. Registering gym badges and Pokemon captured is one thing, but every battle we fight? I mean it's not like all battles are serious, so there wouldn't be a good indicator anyways."

"_I_ disagree with it completely," Gold said. "One of the few times I actually agree with Silver, I believe."

"Yes, indeed," Silver said from his place over in the corner. Gold frowned, stretching his neck to look over at his rival.

"What _are_ you doing over there?"

"Writing a few letters," Silver said, shrugging. "Got to keep in contact, you know."

"You could keep contact with us by being social now," Gold said in a teasing voice. Silver didn't move, so he just shrugged and leaned his head against Crystal's shoulder. Blue and Yellow entered the room again, carrying bowls of snacks, Yellow still with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, you two finally together?" Blue asked, tapping Gold on the head. Crystal laughed, leaning her head back to look up at the older girl.

"I had to trick him into asking me on a date, you know."

"Really? Do tell!"

As the girls chatted about romance and dating, Red turned back to Green.

"You _really_ believe this law is for the best of the nation, only?"

"I believe it is needed," Green replied.

"Is it really?"

Green looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then beckoned Red to follow and walked towards the door. Blue looked up for a second, then re-joined the conversation with Yellow and Crystal. Red followed Green out into the front lawn, taking a deep breath of fresh air as he did.

"I am going to tell you something," Green said. "You can not tell anyone else. Not even Blue or Yellow, you got it? It is still a state secret, kept carefully bottled up by the Association."

"What is it, something bad happened?"

"You could say that. One of the reasons this law came just now is an increased criminal activity. This is what the Association has told the media."

"I have heard that, yes."

"What they haven't said is that almost all of this activity comes from one source... Team Rocket has returned."

Red frowned, biting his lower lip. "But why have they kept that a secret?"

"They hope that this new law will give them enough tools to bring Team Rocket down, let them track emails and Pokemon use to find out who might be involved. For example, if they find traces of an Onix being used to rob a bank, they will cross reference that with a register. It will show everyone who has, or recently has had, an Onix in their team. Perhaps even who could be skilled enough to use it in such a way."

"You really think that will work? Would a Team Rocket member really register his team?" Red asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Anyone who uses a Pokemon that is not registered will have to pay a fee," Green replied, shrugging. "Anyone using a Pokemon that is not registered will also be put on the surveillance lists and disallowed from participating in gym battles and other competitions including Pokemon."

Red sighed deeply, putting a hand on his friends shoulder and shaking his head. "That is dangerously close to a police state," he said, letting his hand fall. "Come on, let's get back inside."

"Yeah, sure. Don't tell Blue about this, alright?"

"You know she will find out eventually."

"I guess. Not today though."

"No," Red agreed. "Not today."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey you two," Blue said as Red and Green entered the house again. "Keep your shoes on, it's almost dinner time. Red, you and Yellow go buy pizza, the rest of us will go to the store and get some more drinks and snacks."

"Alright," Red replied, grabbing his jacket from the rack. Green rolled his eyes, but Blue just gave him a wide grin as she handed him his sweater and put her shoes on.

"Pesky woman."

"Hey, I heard that!" she protested, while Silver did not even bother commenting as he too put his shoes on. "Gold, Crystal, you coming?"

"Yeah," Gold replied. "Just need to find my sweater. Crystal, I am certain I put it in here somewhere..."

They stood there listening to Gold and Crystal arguing over the formers ability to always lose things for a while, then Blue turned to Red and Yellow, who were fully dressed.

"No need for you to wait around," she said in a spirited voice. "You two go on ahead. Buy a few family sized pizzas with different toppings so everyone can choose a slice or two from each. Remember, no olives since I don't like them and no peppers since Crystal is allergic to them."

"Alright," Red said, putting his hand on Yellow's shoulder. "Let's go."

He opened the door and went outside. Blue waited a couple of seconds, then pushed the flustered younger girl out after him and shut it again, returning to patiently wait for the couple from Johto to get ready.

* * *

"We haven't had a lot of time to catch up, have we?" Red asked as they walked. Yellow shook her head.

"N-no, I guess not."

"So how have you been since last time? What was it, a month ago? Feels like longer."

"Fine," she replied, giving him a small smile. She decided to stop acting so childishly and turned to face him completely. "How have _you_ been, Red?"

"Good, not many battles lately. Been a quiet summer, but maybe it'll pick up again now in fall. Unless the experts in media are right and this new law makes less people willing to do Pokemon battles."

"I'm not much for battles, personally. It's partially because I am so bad at it I guess," Yellow said with a smile.

"What are you talking about?" Red asked, stopping to look at her, a frown creasing his brow. "You're extremely strong when you really need to, maybe even stronger than me or Green!"

Yellow blushed hard at the praise, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times without any reply coming. Red laughed and started walking again, so she relaxed and followed, glancing at the older boy now and then. He had grown in length, but he still kept his hair the same way and looked as young as ever. Suddenly, she became very aware of the changes in her own body and felt a blush creeping across her face.

"Hey Yellow?" Red said, causing her to flinch in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what kind of relation Blue and Green has? I don't know if you have noticed, but I am rather clueless when it comes to girls and such, and Green won't talk to me about it."

Yellow stared at him, her entire body wanting her to scream out at him. _If _she had noticed him being clueless about those things? Really? Instead, she just shrugged. "I don't know." She felt her heart skip a beat as he looked at her, focused, thinking.

"How about you, Yellow?"

"W-wha? Me? What?"

"Are you in a relationship with someone? Sorry, maybe that question is a bit too intimate."

"N-no, it's alright," she replied, surprising herself with her relatively calm voice and manner. "And I'm not."

They walked in silence for a while, then reached the pizzeria. They ordered a few different ones and say down in a corner booth to wait for them to be finished.

"Sometimes I feel a bit lonely, you know," Red said, not looking directly at her. She frowned.

"Me too."

They sat there in silence, neither of them looking at the other. Yellow closed her eyes, trying to shut the tension out. When she opened them again, she found Red smiling at her.

"You remember how I thought you were a boy for such a long time?" he said.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling as she remembered. "Blue made me dress up so the Elite Four wouldn't see I was a girl, for safety reasons she said."

Red smiled again, looking away. "Yeah, well I for one am happy that-"

"Hey, your pizza's ready kids!"

Yellow froze in place, while Red bounced to his feet and went over to pay. Happy that what? That she turned out to be a girl? That she had hidden her gender from him at first?

"Yellow, you coming?" he asked. She got to her feet and stumbled over, taking half the pizzas from the top of the pile. Red grabbed the rest, following her out of the pizzeria. Should she ask what it was he had been happy about? How could she?

"Oh, as I was saying," Red said suddenly. She looked over at him, her heart beating faster and faster, trying to keep from panicking.

"Y-yes?"

Red opened his mouth to continue, but Blue's voice came out of nowhere, interrupting him once again. "Hey guys! Are you done?"

"Yeah, can't you tell?" Red replied, smiling as he held up the pizza's he was carrying. The two groups joined together, walking back to Yellow's house.

"Hey Yellow?" Blue asked, suddenly. The two girls had fallen behind the main group a bit. "You're looking a bit irritated, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Of course not," Yellow mumbled. Her friend glanced at her, apparently deciding not to push the matter further.

"Fine, tell me later."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Sir?" Surge said, knocking on the open door to Giovanni's office. "I have the report you wanted, if you have time."

"Of course."

Surge dropped the stack of papers on his boss's desk, then took a seat in the armchair in the corner of the room, eying the art hanging on the opposite wall. He hummed a bit to himself while Giovanni read, then stretched his arms and legs and got to his feet again, walking back over to the desk.

"So, what do you think? We make sure our operatives use the same Pokemon as Association members usually have. The public _will _notice something like that, so they will demand that the law is changed to include Association members as well. Even if the Association does agree to that, they will be hampered in their work by having to report everything all the time."

"It _might_ work," Giovanni agreed. "However, it would probably take too long for the public to figure something like that out. Have one of our media sources leak the idea into the press rather quickly. After a month or so perhaps."

"Got it. You know, I preferred the old days, when we did not have to hide like this. It's all these damn dexholders-"

"My son is one of those 'damn dexholders'," Giovanni interrupted in a cool voice. "But I see your point, nonetheless. All we need to do is make the public lose faith in the Association. They are doing a pretty good job themselves, putting laws like this in effect, but we will give them a little push as well. Once people do not believe the Association are working in their best interests anymore, they will be forced to reorganize."

"Yes, sir."

"Patience my friend! Our day of glory will come once again."

This time, Surge actually smiled. Giovanni was right, of course, like always. The people would lose their faith in the Association, and the Association in turn would lose their hold on the people. There would be plenty of opportunity, then. Plenty indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

Blue woke up early, blinking in the sudden sunlight. Sapphire and Crystal were sleeping in Yellow's wide bed, Crystal wrapped in her blanket and Sapphire more or less curled up at her feet. Yellow had been sleeping on the floor, next to her, but had apparently already left the room.

She wondered idly how they would fit the three dexholders that had not arrived yet. Sapphire had offered to join the two Kanto girls on the floor when Platinum arrived, but that still left two boys. With Gold and Ruby sleeping in the two single beds in the guest room, Red and Green on inflatable mattresses that Green had brought from the gym, Wally and Emerald on the floor of the guest room, and Silver on the sofa, the house was getting very crowded.

The idea of creeping up next to Green on the mattress crossed her mind, and she grinned at the thought of his reaction as he noticed. She shrugged to herself and quietly went downstairs, sneaking past the sleeping boys and exiting the house. As she had guessed, Yellow was in the garden, watering some plants while talking to Pika and Chuchu.

"Hey," she said.

"Good morning," Yellow replied, giving her a tired smile. "I woke up earlier than usual, so I figured I'd do some things in the garden that needed doing, before the rest of you woke up. Are the others...?"

"The others are still sleeping. I woke up early and assumed you were out here since I didn't see you inside, so I figured I'd give you some company."

"Thanks."

"So Yellow, what _did _we interrupt yesterday, really?" she asked. The younger girl looked unhappy.

"I... I don't know. He talked about the time he thought I was a guy, and then he said he was happy about something, before he was interrupted by the pizza man. Then he started talking again after that and _you_ interrupted him!"

"Oh," Blue said, biting her lower lip. "Sorry."

"Not a problem," her younger friend assured her. "If it really was important, he will say it again. It is Red we are talking about, after all."

"I guess."

"When are they coming from Sinnoh today? During the afternoon?"

"Yeah, that is what they said at least. In time for dinner. Want me to give Red another chance at talking to you?"

Yellow smiled, touched by her friend's assistance when it truly mattered. "Only if you can do it without being as painfully obvious as yesterday," she replied.

"Obvious?" Blue replied, returning the smile. "Me? You must be mistaken."

* * *

Dia paused for a moment to catch his breath, putting the heavy bag he had been carrying for Platinum down on the ground.

"What do you have in there?" he panted.

"Some changes of clothing. A couple of pairs of shoes, some dresses. The usual."

"This is a meet-up between friends, not some socialite party," Pearl groaned, shaking his head. Dia just smiled, taking a bite from a piece of chocolate he had in his pocket.

"Really, it's alright," he said with his mouth full.

"Right," Pearl replied in a dry voice. "You two stay here, the bus leaves in about half an hour. I'm gonna go see if I can find some magazine shop so I can buy something to read on the trip. We will be going for a few hours, after all. You guys need anything?"

"I have my books," Platinum said, tapping her other bag. Dia shook his head, unable to get a sound out. Pearl rolled his eyes and left, his eyes darting back and forth as he crossed the combined train and bus terminal, looking for a store that might sell what he needed.

Eventually, he found a magazine store, cursing softly to himself as he realized it had not opened yet. He left the station, spotting another magazine store across the street. After making sure no cars were coming, he rushed over and entered.

Since he had plenty of time left, he browsed the selection carefully before choosing three magazines, one about comedy and two about Pokemon battles, and paying for them. He exited the store, only to nearly fall over as a man dressed in black ran into him.

"Hey, watch it!" he yelled, but the man barely spared him a glance before he ran off again.

"That outfit seemed familiar," Pearl muttered to himself, scratching his head as he looked after the fleeing man. He thought back. Black uniform, something embroidered on the chest... He almost had it when a tremendous boom echoed across the street. He stumbled at the shock of the sudden noise, then stabilized himself and looked over to where the man had come running from.

There had been a Pokemon Center there, but it was now reduced to a smoldering ruin. With only a moments hesitation, he decided to get to the bottom with what had just happened, so he started running after the black-dressed man.

* * *

Dia frowned as he received a message from Pearl on his Message Function on the Pokétch. He read it, then prodded Platinum carefully on the shoulder. She turned and gave him a quizzical look.

"Pearl sent a message," he said, clearly worried. "He says he has gone chasing after some man, he believes he is behind some kind of accident outside the station... You think that was the loud noise just now?"

"It has to be," Platinum replied, frowning. "It is very much like Pearl to want to catch someone who caused an accident, but I wonder... What kind of accident?"

"Look!" Dia gasped, pointing at a TV screen hanging in a nearby restaurant. There were pictures showing the station, then the ruins of a building just outside. Ambulances and fire trucks started arriving, while civilians rushed in to assist them in saving those hurt in the explosion that had apparently happened just then.

"That's a Pokemon Center," Platinum mumbled. "Pearl said he was chasing someone he thought was behind it? That must be dangerous, so maybe we should-"

"Lady!" Dia interrupted suddenly, meeting her eyes. "You should stay here! I will leave Lax with you to keep you safe, and I will go help Pearl. Are you okay with that?"

"Y-yes," Platinum said, nodding. He handed her Lax's Pokeball and rushed away, while using his Pokétch to send a message to Pearl and ask where he was. Platinum looked at Dia as he disappeared behind a corner, leaving the station, then raised her hand and touched her cheek lightly, frowning to herself. It was just Dia, and yet... why did she feel so flustered after speaking to him?


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Blue!" Yellow called out. There was a couple of seconds of silence, then a click, before Blue came into the kitchen, a toothbrush hanging from the side of her mouth.

"Myeh?"

"I got a message from Platinum, guess they are going to be late. She said Pearl and Dia had to rush off to do something and she would explain later, when they arrive."

"Ah," Blue managed, walking over to the kitchen sink and spitting out the toothpaste she had left in her mouth. "As long as they come in time for dinner, I guess."

"Yeah... Good thing we didn't have anything planned for tonight."

"Oh about that, I have an idea on how to give you and Red some time later," Blue whispered, giving her a wink before disappearing from the room. Yellow stared after her for a few seconds, then leaned her head against the wall, sighing.

* * *

Pearl dodged aside as an attack came out of nowhere. The man in front of him had stopped, turned towards him. He quickly realized that the attack had come from a Pokemon hiding in the alley, no doubt planted there earlier by the man, in case someone followed him.

"Who are you?" he yelled, not really expecting an answer. He tried to figure out which Pokemon the man was using, but he could not recognize it. Another attack followed, but he easily dodged aside again, pulling out his Pokedex. "Now what have we got here... Shedinja? In that case... Chatler, Chimler, come out!"

A Shadow Ball flashed past him, smashing into the wall behind. Chatler flew up high, ready to dive down and attack, while Chimler got ready to face any frontal assault.

"Clever boy!" the man yelled to him. "But do you really think that a type advantage will be enough?"

"Why don't you try me?"

"Very well," the man replied with a feral grin. "Shedinja, use Dig!"

"It can use Dig?" Pearl gasped, frantically trying to think of a counter tactic as he flipped through the different pages on the Pokedex. "Chimler and Chatler are unable to attack it until it comes up again, and then-"

The bug resurfaced again, and Pearl flinched as Chimler took the brunt of the ground attack. As it was super effective, the Infernape almost fainted from the single attack. Pearl gritted his teeth, realizing that this was a very highly trained foe. With just a moments hesitation, he returned Chimler to its Pokeball.

"You won't be able to hit Chatler with another Dig! Aerial Ace!"

"Shedinja, the same!"

"It knows _that_ move too?" Pearl yelled in frustration.

"My employers have very deep pockets," the man said, curling his lip into a snarl. "This Shedinja has received special training to counter any threat! It is faster than your Chatot, so it will win!"

Pearl opened his mouth to retort, but interrupted himself as the Shedinja hit not just once, but twice. Chatler screeched, crashing to the ground. Pearl stumbled backwards, running a hand over his remaining Pokeballs, trying to figure out a solution.

"You can do no move that I can not counter," the man said. "It is over. Shedinja, finish him off with a Shadow Ball!"

Pearl stumbled back, expecting an attack, but instead something large flashed past, pulling the Shedinja along with it. Pearl nearly fell off his feet as the ground shook when Tru, Dia's Torterra, landed with its back feet first on the street in front of him, one of Shedinja's wings sticking out of its mouth, fluttering uselessly.

"Dia?" Pearl gasped, as the large Torterra spat out the cracked shell of his enemy, then turned to face the other enemy, the man in black.

"Up here!" Dia yelled, waving from a second story window. "I heard there was fighting going on here, so I ran here to help you... But then I figured I would be more help if I could surprise whoever you were fighting, so I ran up here. The 'dex said those Shedinja are weak against Dark-type moves, so I told Tru to grab it on the way down and use Crunch on it."

"Fools!" the man in black snarled, removing another Pokeball from his belt. "You will pay for this, someday!"

He threw the Pokeball, calling out a Skarmory. It spread its wings, giving them a threatening display, then the black-clad man mounted its back, while recalling the fainted Shedinja into its Pokeball. After shooting Pearl one final glare, he flew off, disappearing quickly between two buildings.


	5. Chapter 5

Yellow shut her eyes and leaned back against the cool wall of her house. Blue had told her to sit outside, on the small wooden bench in the shade. She had argued that she needed to make lunch, but Blue had _insisted_ until she could no longer take it.

"Hey Yellow," a voice said. Her eyes shot open, and she found herself looking straight at Red's face, which was about a meter away.

"R-Red?"

"Where do you keep your tomatoes?" he asked, looking around. "Blue told me to go pick some for lunch, but I can't find them."

"I don't, uh, have any," she said lamely. So this was why she had been ordered out. She should have understood.

"Oh. Strange, I thought Blue would've known that."

"She does," Yellow replied instinctively. Then, realizing what she had just said, she clasped a hand over her mouth. Red looked at her, frowning slightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, in a concerned voice.

"Yes!"

"Hm, alright. Weird, though... I wonder why Blue told me to go pick some if she knew you don't have any. Guess she wanted me out of the house for a while for some reason."

"Ah no! It's not that, it's-"

"Oh?"

"W-well you see, she has this strange idea that you might somehow like me, or something," Yellow blurted out, after which she let out a loud and incredibly nervous laugh. Red looked at her for a few seconds in what seemed like mild amusement.

"Would that really be such a strange idea?" he asked, looking at her. She blushed and looked away, so he just shrugged and started walking towards the door. "Don't worry, I'll go talk to her."

* * *

"I'm telling you officer," Pearl said for the third time, "I am not sure if he really _was_ from Team Rocket."

"You said he was dressed in black and had something that looked like a logo on the left part of his chest. That sounds like a Team Rocket uniform to me."

"Maybe so, but why would they blow up a Pokemon Center and lose much of the support they have gained lately? And even if they had a good reason for it, why would they advertise it was them by wearing a full uniform while doing it?"

"It could have been just a lowly grunt, hoping to make his superiors happy by causing some destruction."

"This was no grunt!" Pearl retorted through gritted teeth. "Team Rocket or not, he was a powerful fighter with well trained Pokemon. If he had been easy to defeat I might have believed you, but this guy must be within the elite of whatever group he is in."

"Your concerns are noted," the officer said in a cool voice. "Now please, we have a lot to do. I trust you will find your way out yourself."

"Count on it," Pearl muttered, mostly to himself. He followed the corridor out from the interrogation and office area, through the visitors area and out into the street outside, where Dia and Platinum were waiting.

"Hey Pearl, are you done?" Dia asked as he exited the building. Pearl nodded sourly.

"I don't know why she insisted on me coming along in the first place," he said. "She didn't listen to a word I said, except if I agreed with her."

"Maybe she was hoping you would affirm her belief, and got annoyed when you did not?" Platinum put in, looking thoughtful.

"I have no idea," Pearl replied with a sigh. "Come on, with a bit of luck we'll be able to catch the next train out of here."

* * *

"Wait!"

Red stopped in mid-step, while Yellow worked her brain quickly, trying to figure out what to say next.

"L-listen," she managed, struggling with every word., feeling another blush creep across her face. "I w-wouldn't think the idea was strange, really! It would just be... unexpected."

"I see," Red replied. She wished she could see his face as he spoke, but he was turned slightly away from her. "Would... Would it be unwelcome, as well?"

She froze, staring at him. What was he talking about?

"Sorry," he said, turning to flash her a quick smile. "Forget I said anything."

With that, he entered the house and carefully shut the door behind him. Yellow got to her feet, but couldn't move. Instead, she just stood there, staring at where he had been just moments earlier. What had he meant? Unwelcome? Why would he want to know that, or even care, unless...

_He liked her?_ She felt her heart racing, her knees grow weak, even as she denied the possibility to herself, trying to find another explanation that felt easier to believe. Her legs folded beneath her and she flopped back down onto the bench, staring out at the forest beyond her fence with unfocused eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

When she entered her house again, Yellow found everyone sitting in front of the TV, staring intently at the screen. She frowned and went over to stand behind the sofa.

"Did something happen?"

"I think we found the reason the Sinnoh holders are late," Blue replied, nodding towards the screen. Yellow looked at the pictures of smoke plumes, some burning building and general destruction.

"That's in Saffron?" she asked, feeling a wave of worry wash over her.

"Yeah."

"We should call them," Yellow said, picking up her phone. Blue got up from the sofa and came over to her.

"They are probably fine," she said in a soothing voice. "They did message us to say they were late, so just message back and ask if they are alright. You can call if they do not reply."

Yellow nodded, quickly tapping the message into the phone and sending it to Platinum. She turned back to the TV, just to find Silver and Green arguing.

"-father wouldn't do that. Something is wrong."

"Well the reports says its Team Rocket, how do you explain that?"

"It could be a mistake," Silver persisted. "Or a lie, maybe fabricated by the Association to make my father look bad."

"Your father is the leader of a criminal gang, and-"

"He wouldn't do something like _that!_" Silver snarled, getting to his feet and pointing at the screen, where footage from a passing helicopter was now being broadcast, showing the destruction from a new angle.

Yellow tuned out the conversation long enough to read a response from Platinum that they were fine and now on their way, having boarded a later train as soon as they could. She raised her head to relay the news, but found a full-fledged fight in front of her instead.

"Maybe if you pulled that _stick_ out your ass and stopped being so cold and serious all the time, you'd realize there are other things than just logic to base your ideas on!" Blue was yelling, stabbing at Green's chest with her finger. "Sometimes you need emotions, _morals_!"

"Yeah, well, don't let me waste your time then, miss morally superior," Green retorted, collecting his things. "Have a nice day."

With that, he walked out from the house, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving them all standing there, staring at the door. There was a few moments of silence, then Yellow and Crystal quickly grabbed Blue by one arm each and, seeing that she was near crying, pulled her out of the room. Silver made a move to follow, but Gold put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Give the girls some time time," Ruby mumbled from his spot on the floor.

"Y-yeah."

"I'll just, um, go join them," Sapphire said, slipping off the sofa and disappearing up the stairs after the other girls, leaving the boys alone.

"Well... Damn," Red managed. Silver sat down in the armchair next to the sofa, burying his face in his hands.

"I did not want this to happen," he said.

"We know," Gold replied. Wally coughed lightly and got to his feet.

"I'll go continue working on the lunch," he said in a dampened voice.

"I'll help," Ruby volunteered, following his friend into the kitchen. Emerald hesitated for a second, then also joined them. Red got into the sofa next to Gold and looked at Silver.

"You okay?"

"I feel horrible. I might have just ruined their friendship. Maybe even more."

"It ain't your fault," Gold said, leaning back. "Green _has_ always been a bit too serious, he probably just needs to cool off a bit."

They sat there for a while, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, then heard footsteps in the stairs. The three of them looked up as Blue entered the room again, her eyes swollen and face blushing red. Yellow, Crystal and Sapphire followed her in.

"The idiot," she hissed. "How does he expect me to apologize if he won't even pick up the phone?"

"You tried calling him?" Red asked.

"Yeah. He won't talk to me."

"I can go over there, have a word with him," Red said, jumping to his feet. He went over to the door and grabbed his jacket. "You okay with that?"

"Yeah," Blue said, nodding. "Just... tell him I'm sorry, okay?"

"I'll come too," Yellow said, surprising even herself. Red looked at her quickly, then nodded.

"Alright, get your boots on and let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

The two trainers walked in silence to Green's gym, which was less than five minutes away by foot. They stood outside for a while, then Red pushed the door open, slipping in with Yellow just behind him.

"Green?" he called out. They had heard some distant fighting sounds when they entered, but now they stopped. After a couple of seconds, their friend appeared around the corner, frowning.

"I was training."

"We heard," Red said. "Blue is really upset."

"Really."

"She is!" Yellow chimed in. "And she has been trying to call you, but..."

"I put my phone in my room before starting training," Green replied, shrugging.

"She wanted to apologize," Red told him. Yellow nodded.

"Yeah, me too," Green sighed. "I don't want her to be angry with me, but I won't change my opinions just to suit her ideals."

"You don't have to. Maybe just... Mention it less around her and Silver."

Green looked at the two of them, then turned to Yellow.

"Could I get some privacy with Red, please?"

"Uh, sure," Yellow said, walking over to the door. "I'll wait outside."

They waited until the door had shut behind her, then Green sighed loudly and sat down on a bench, leaning against the wall.

"You have to understand," Red told him. "While I am generally against this law, I am not really that bothered by it. Blue and Silver, though, have had problems with authority for a long time. They were prisoners as children, so anything reminding them of that, any surveillance or control..."

"Of course I understand that, but this is different. This time, it is for the good of the nation as a whole, to prevent things like what happened to them."

"They understand that, but it is hard to fight instincts. Just... just give them time."

"Yeah," Green said. "Thanks. I think I also need some time, so would you mind telling Yellow and the others that I will be back _later_ tonight, or early tomorrow?"

"No, I'll tell them."

* * *

"They?" Surge asked, glancing at his boss. Giovanni got to his feet and walked over to his desk.

"Association," he said, pulling out a whiskey bottle and two glasses. "They need support for their new laws, being able to blame crimes like this on us is perfect for them. Increases support tenfold with barely any effort."

He poured a generous helping into one of the glasses and handed it to Surge, who accepted it and took a long sip. After pouring an equal amount into his own glass, Giovanni put the bottle away again and sat down.

"Obviously, it was not an official operation," he said. "However, the Association has a lot of powerful groups, many of which would benefit from this law. It would be easy for one of them to pull this off."

"In other words, you believe parts of the Association moves independently from the others?"

"Yes. That seems increasingly likely."

"You have orders for me, then?" Surge asked, taking another sip. Giovanni nodded.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I want you to go there and look for evidence of Association members being involved and, if possible, evidence showing we were not. If we could prove such a thing..."

"We'd have signed their death warrant," Surge finished, nodding. "Very good."

* * *

Yellow turned around as Red exited the gym. When she saw he was alone, she frowned, but he gave her a quick smile.

"He will come later," he told her.

"Later?"

"Tonight, or tomorrow morning. He said he needed more time to think, alone."

"Oh. Well, alright then. I guess we should get back anyways, lunch is probably ready."

They walked in silence again, but thoughts were flowing through Yellow's head. _Tell him. Just tell him why you came along. _

"Red..."

"Hm?"

"You remember what we talked about... earlier? In my garden? You told me to forget it, but..."

She tried to continue. She really did, but it just wouldn't happen. Somehow, she had just locked up and she found herself unable to move a muscle or say a word. She shut her eyes and then, without warning, something soft pressed against her lips, just for a second.

She opened her eyes again. Red was standing just in front of her. She stared at him and he looked slightly embarrassed. He was blushing slightly and had his hand against his neck, as he usually did when he was nervous about something.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't-"

"Again," she interrupted, surprising herself with being able to talk at all. She must have grown more than she thought during the last couple of years. "Please."

He nodded, grinning, then leaned in. Their lips met again, and this time she returned the kiss, her mind momentarily filled with nothing but joy.


	8. Chapter 8

_Three days later..._

Yellow flinched as lightning struck somewhere near the building, far too close for her comfort. Red gave her a worried glance, but she shook her head nearly invisibly. He knew that she did not like thunder, but they had said they would not tell anyone about their relationship until at least they themselves were sure it was actually somewhat 'official'.

They, along with all the other dexholders, were currently in Green's gym, watching the second semi-finals of the Pokemon tournament they were holding. Currently, Green was fighting Sapphire. Whoever won would get to fight Platinum for the dexholder champion title.

"Hey Crystal," she overheard Gold say. "Can't believe you lost your match."

"Well, you are more of a fighter than me," Crystal said, shrugging. "Besides, I didn't see you doing much better against Yellow, right?"

Yellow smiled as her younger friend glanced over, then laughed with the others as Gold tried and failed to explain how he had not _really_ lost, just been outmaneuvered a bit. After a while, he gave up and laughed as well, before leaning against Crystal to watch the battle.

It was a simple two-on-two match, but Green had already used his Machamp to beat Sapphire's Aggron, Rono. Sapphire managed to confuse the Machamp with her Toro, before delivering a final hit, and now it was her Blaziken against Greens Charizard.

"Green has the upper hand," Ruby commented. Red nodded, as he knew Charizard had flying type moves, which Toro would be weak against. Not only that, but Toro had just used some energy to fight Machamp.

Charizard was circling the battlefield, his movement constrained only by the walls and roof of the huge gym battle hall. Another flash of lightning illuminated the room, and that was when Green decided to strike. The large dragon-like Pokemon fell into a dive, using Fly, intending to do a quick strike before retreating to safe heights once again.

"Toro," Sapphire yelled, having waited until the very last second to give orders, "evade and grab!"

"What?" Green yelled, eyes widening in surprise as the opponent Pokemon simply slid aside, causing most of Charizard's attack to miss, while grabbing a hold around its neck. Charizard quickly gained altitude, weaving back and forth to shake the unwelcome hitchhiker. Toro held on and, when the timing was right, Sapphire revealed the next stage of the attack.

"Sky Uppercut!"

Her Toro swung itself around, letting go of Charizard as it reached the top of its swing. The large lizard turned around to face the threat, but Toro spun around and launched a downwards attack, hitting the opponent with a brutally powerful punch. Charizard gave a screeching sound and fell to the floor. Toro followed not far behind, fainting as it hit the floor far too hard, and as it had taken more damage than it appeared from Charizards flailing and initial attack.

"Sapphire is the winner, barely!" Pearl announced, playing the role of judge for the match. "We will take a break and be back later for our final match. Lunch, anyone?"

* * *

In a room filled with shadows, a man in black, wearing a small emblem on his chest, kneeled.

"Your will, master?"

His leader, a man of considerable age and influence, looked down on him, his face an expressionless mask. The attack on the Pokecenter earlier that week had been his idea, and it had worked superbly. Team Rocket took the blame and the new Association registration law support had soared in the polls. Despite that, it did not have enough Association members on its side for it to be completely certain it would pass the vote at the end of the week.

"Friday approaches," the older man said, finally. "The vote is scheduled for just after lunch, meaning all delegates and members will have time during the lunch break to watch any news that might happen to be shown right then."

The black-clad man did not speak. He knew his master was only pausing before giving the final order.

"There are bound to be large demonstrations against the law during the day," his master said. They already knew there would be, they had organized some of them themselves. "If just one of them erupts into a full-blown riot, there could be a domino effect across the region... or even the entire nation. With Pokemon involved in both sides, it would get messy. Such a thing could convince some of the weaker opponents that we need this new law."

"I will travel to Goldenrod City for the meeting," the black-clad man said. "I am sure I can persuade some of the locals to... see our side of the story."

His master merely nodded, and he got to his feet, leaving the room to carry out his duty to the man he served directly, and the nation through him.


	9. Chapter 9

_Two days later, during Friday..._

Pearl clapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth, trying to create some heat.

"It's freezing!" he muttered.

"The bus will be here any minute," Dia replied, taking a bite from a sandwich he kept in his jacket pocket.

"Oh hey, by the way," Pearl said, turning to Platinum. "How does it feel that you lost to Sapphire in the finals? It was really close!"

Platinum looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds, then smiled.

"She is a very good fighter, I learned a lot."

"The bus is here," Dia said. "Though I wish we could have stayed longer. It has been a good week."

"It has," Pearl agreed. "But we all have duties back in Sinnoh. You and me have to get back to practice, and Platinum has to help Mr. Berlitz with the science stuff."

"I am sure my father would not mind me having a few days off to spend time with my friends," Platinum replied as they entered the bus. "After all, we do not see each other as often now as we did back when we traveled together."

"We'd like that," Dia replied, smiling wide.

* * *

"Now that we are fewer left, we should redo the sleeping arrangements," Red said, flopping down on the sofa next to Yellow. "The Sinnoh trio are going back home, Green and Emerald back to the gym, Blue and Silver had something they needed to do for a while and Crystal is going back to Pallet Town to help Oak."

"In other words, that leaves the two of us, Gold, Ruby, Wally and Sapphire."

"Yeah."

"Me and Sapphire can easily share my bed," Yellow said, thinking. "But I only have two beds and the sofa for the four of you guys."

"Actually, Green left the two inflatable mattresses in case we needed them."

"Huh. No problem then."

"Guess not," Red said, giving her a tired smile. Yellow glanced at him, frowning.

"Red, is something wrong?"

"Probably not. I was just thinking about what Blue and Silver had to go do, they wouldn't tell me anything. It is probably nothing."

Yellow frowned, realizing she had been thinking about that as well. She had asked Blue if they could not stay for a while longer, but the older girl had just smiled and explained that the two of them had some business to take care of.

"Yeah, probably nothing serious," she agreed, shrugging and leaning back. Red put his arm on the couch backrest, behind her.

"Hey," he said, "at least now we can try to figure out what to do with our relationship without Blue hovering over us all the time."

He smiled at her and she laughed, feeling a bit better already. He was right, of course. While Blue had been there, it had been impossible to get alone time without her knowing, asking questions and trying to give advice. She meant well, but...

"Yo guys."

"Hey Gold!" Red replied, quickly removing his arm from behind her. She noticed from the boy's smirk that he had noticed _something_ was going on, though. He sat down in the armchair next to them, putting his feet on the table.

"Can't we go get pizza or something for dinner?"

"Sounds good to me," Red said. "Yellow?"

"Well we didn't eat out as much as I thought while the others were still here, so I have money left that I did not expect... and it _would_ be nice to not have to cook."

"Cool," Gold said, nodding. "The others are fine with it. Well Wally is, Ruby and Sapphire said they didn't care either way really."

"Where are they, by the way?"

"Well Wally was making some call... Ruby and Sapphire were fighting over something Ruby had forgotten, not sure about the details but it sounded complicated. Figured it was best to leave them alone, you know?"

"Yeah," Red said, nodding. Gold eyed him for a few seconds, then gave a short laugh.

"I didn't interrupt anything here, did I?"

Yellow turned bright red and tried to answer, but Gold just smiled and got to his feet.

"I'll go check if Wally is done," he said. "And if the other two are still fighting."

They sat there for a couple of seconds, then Red started laughing. Yellow looked at him, puzzled.

"W-what?"

"Gold _can_ be really tactful when he wants to, huh?" Red said, smiling.

"I guess," Yellow said, smiling back. "Want to check what is on TV?"

"Sure."


	10. Chapter 10

_Authors Note: Thanks to all for the good response to this story so far! It looks like it will turn into a trilogy after all (my original idea was for a duology), but I hope that will not scare away too many potential readers. _

_This is actually the story I have that has gotten the highest amount of alerts, as well as the highest amount of reviews apart from the 3 original Dark Fire parts :) thanks again, and enjoy!_

* * *

Giovanni flinched as the door to his meeting room slammed open, but stopped his guards from releasing their Pokemon when he saw the two young people walking in.

"Silver?" he said, frowning. "And your lady friend... Blue, is it?"

"Yes, father."

"Why are you here?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes on both trainers. One of his aides rushed in behind them, looking frantic.

"Sir, these two just barged in! They defeated several of the guards and, oh-"

"It is alright," Giovanni told her. "Go back to work, I can handle this."

"Y-yes sir."

The aide disappeared through the door again and, after a couple of seconds, the two guards in the room followed. With only Silver, Blue and a few of the highest ranking members of Team Rocket left in the meeting room, Giovanni once again turned his attention to his son.

"Silver, why are you here?"

"I have a question for you, father."

"Go ahead."

Silver walked over and leaned against the wall, while Blue remained close to the door opening, as if ready to escape if necessary.

"There has been quite a bit of unrest lately," Silver said, looking directly at his father. "Rumors are that Team Rocket is involved. My first question is if you were involved in the Saffron City explosion."

Giovanni looked at him for a while, as if assessing his son, then shook his head.

"We were not. In fact, I have sent Surge to look for evidence of the true attacker. They are trying to make us look bad, so we suspect that it is either a rival group or... The Association themselves."

"The Association?" Blue asked in a doubtful voice. "You really think they would do such a thing?"

"Not officially, of course. Parts of it."

"It makes sense," Silver admitted, visibly relaxing. "Blue, good enough for you?"

"Yeah."

"Good enough?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Father, we wish to join you."

"The Association has gone too far," Blue supplied, and Silver nodded.

"Indeed they have," he continued. "We are not going to let them register us when we have done nothing. If that is the case, we might as well earn a reason for the registration by joining you. Provided you promise us one simple thing."

"Of course," Giovanni replied.

"Our membership will _only_ be temporary. It will only serve to fight the Association in this question. We will not help you get rich or whatever it is you are doing, we will only help bring the Association down to make way for a power that acts for the people rather than for itself."

"That can be arranged. In fact, I am in dire need of a couple of skilled observers right now, related to this case... If you're up for it?"

"Tell us."

* * *

Platinum sipped her coffee, glancing over at her two friends. Dia and Pearl were busy chatting about some comedy magazines a few meters away, while she had insisted that she wanted to sit and have some coffee before they boarded the train that would take them to Goldenrod City, where they would switch to an airplane that would take them to Sinnoh.

She looked at the TV mounted near the ceiling of the small train station. There was a news story about riots in several smaller towns across Johto and Kanto on. After a while, it switched to a view of Saffron, revealing a large crowd gathering near the ruins of the Pokemon Center.

"Diamond, Pearl?" she called out, waving them over. They looked at the news story unfolding, then Pearl stretched a bit and sighed.

"Guess the train might be late because of that. Hope not though, we only have a few hours in Goldenrod to get to the airport anyways."

"If we are late, that is not a problem," Platinum said. "We did promise to spend more time together, and I have plenty of money with me to pay for a hotel room one or two nights."

"Still, I'd like to get out of here," Pearl insisted. "I have a feeling something bad might happen. Remember, there are a lot of people on both sides here. If something sets them off, the whole town will be a dangerous place to be."

"Oh, don't worry so much Pearl," Dia said, seating himself opposite Platinum at the small cafe table. "We can diffuse the situation with a few jokes, if needed. If that doesn't help, all three of us are well trained in battle."

"True, I guess," Pearl sighed. They sat there, waiting for the train to arrive. Dia fell asleep on the table, while Platinum busied herself with a book. Pearl looked around, trying to see any signs of trouble nearby. Suddenly, he froze.

"Guys," he said. "That guy over there. It's him!"

"Who?" Dia said, rubbing his eyes.

"That's the guy that blew up the Pokemon Center!" Pearl hissed, getting to his feet. "He must be here to cause trouble again, and with all those people here..."

"It might have disastrous consequences," Dia finished, nodding. "Should we call the police?"

"You do that," Pearl said, turning away from the table. "I am going to stop him."

* * *

The Man in Black swore and accelerated his walk slightly as he saw the trainers that had battled him a week earlier. Why were they here? Who were they, some kind of agents? He had hoped to board a train to Goldenrod and start a riot there during the meeting, but with those people there...

He turned his head and looked back, startled to see one of the three edging his way through the crowd, stalking him, quickly gaining on him. Not wanting to get caught, he broke into a flat-out run, knocking over a couple of people who were standing in the way. Despite this, the other trainer was still gaining on him.

"This is Shard," he gasped into his Pokegear. "Someone is on my tail, I won't make it to Goldenrod. Advice?"

"Proceed at current location instead. Use the situation with your stalker to your advantage."

"Yes master," Shard replied, grinning. "It will be a true pleasure."

* * *

While Saffron City was the largest city in Kanto, its train station only had two exists. Pearl instantly recognized the one they exited through as the one situated towards the former Pokemon Center. The man he was pursuing could easily lose him in the crowd, if he reached it.

As if reading Pearl's mind, his Chatler flew ahead, attacking the man. He managed to wave Chatler away and, reaching the crowd, turned around to face him.

"Stop right there!" Pearl yelled, coming to a halt in a fighting stance. The man he was chasing laughed, pulling a Pokeball from his belt.

"I never intended to run further," he said, grinning madly. Pearls eyebrows shot up as he realized – the man was never trying to get away, he was only trying to get an audience! Several protesters near them had now turned around, clearly confused by what was happening behind them. The Man in Black sent out a Cloyster, firing a powerful Ice Beam that knocked Chatler from the air.

"I have more than-" Pearl started, but he never managed to finish the sentence. A pain like nothing he had ever felt before burned through his entire body. He stared down at where the sudden Spike Cannon had hit him, just below the chest. Blood seemed to be everywhere, and he barely managed to look up as someone nearby screamed in terror.

"This is what happens when you mess with Team Rocket!" the Man in Black yelled, turning to the crowd. He was very pleased with the theatrics, and even more so that it had happened between the pro-Association and anti-Association sides of the protests.

Before anyone could stop him, he returned Cloyster to its Pokeball and grabbed Skarmory by its neck, flying away. Beneath him, he saw the young man fall over, unable to stay upright while losing so much blood. Only seconds later, the two crowds surged towards each other, ready for battle. The riot had started!


	11. Chapter 11

"It looks like _someone_ is injured down there," Silver said. Blue blinked, looking up at him. "I think he was attacked, but I can't see well enough from here..."

"You want the binoculars?" she asked, holding them up. They had left Giovanni's base quickly to be able to keep a lookout over Saffron, while other Team Rocket observers were stationed in other cities.

"No, too late now," Silver replied. "The crowd is in the way... Blue!"

Blue got to her feet as a man clad in dark clothes soared past on the back of a Skarmory.

"I see him!"

Silver quickly called out his Honchkrow and started pursuit. Blue put their things back in the backpack and slung it over her shoulder before jumping on Blasty's back, letting the large Pokemon use its water cannons to propel them away after the other two.

She passed Silver rather quickly, but Skarmory flew faster. The man on its back looked over his shoulder and, noticing the rapidly approaching Blue, tried an evasive maneuver to the side. Blue managed to catch up and, when passing directly above, did a flip that landed her on the Skarmory's back, behind the man.

He started twisting back and forth, trying to shake her off or drive an elbow into her face. She held on, even as he managed to hit her in the side. His flying became more erratic, slowing them down. She jumped to her feet behind him, beckoning to Silver. He nodded, having caught up with them thanks to her stalling tactics.

Without hesitating, she did a cartwheel off the side of the bird she had hitched a ride on. Silver did not wait to see how she fared; he already knew she would be using Ditto as a parachute. Instead, he used his Weavile to launch a Blizzard attack on the enemy. The Skarmory managed to hold out for a few moments, but was quickly overwhelmed and frozen by the incredible cold. Silver only hoped the crashing man would survive long enough to answer some questions.

* * *

Dia and Platinum arrived at Pearl's side at the same time. He was bleeding heavily, but they managed to use their Pokemon to set up a safe zone, as it was at the edge of the crowd.

"We can't move him like this!" Dia yelled. Platinum nodded her agreement, handing him her scarf.

"Here," she said. "Use this and your own to try and stop his bleeding, if possible. I will get away from the crowd a bit and call a hospital."

Dia nodded, quickly getting to work. He was thankful now over the first aid course that Pearl had decided they should take together a few months earlier. He managed to stop most of the bleeding on the front of Pearl's body, but he did not dare move him to see how much he was bleeding from the back.

The crowd was beginning to push in toward him, and Dia wondered what to do, when Platinum finally came rushing back, followed by two men in medic outfits. He sighed in relief as they managed to move him to a stretcher and lift him back to the car. While the first medic started the ambulance, the second stayed with Dia and Platinum.

He quickly told them Pearl would likely be alright, thanks to how they had stopped the bleeding. He gave Platinum a small card with the name and address of the hospital he would be taken to. After that, the medic jumped into the ambulance, and it disappeared around a nearby corner.

Dia was just about to complement Platinum on how brave and calm she had been, when he saw a tear glisten in the corner of her eye.

"Platinum...?"

"We nearly lost him!" she wailed, suddenly throwing her arms around him. He blinked in shock as she buried her face in his shoulder, literally shaking from sobs. Dia felt awkward, unsure of what to do, so he just put his hands on her back and held her, which seemed to help.

They stood there for a while, gently rocking back and forth, while the riots continued behind them. When the noise – sirens and the sound of shattering glass – came too close, Dia started walking away, still holding his arms around Platinum. He lead her back into the station, as it seemed relatively safe.

"Come," he said, lowering her carefully into a seat somewhere near the tracks. There was a vending machine nearby, so he bought a chocolate bar and a bottle of water, giving her half the chocolate and the whole bottle. She thankfully accepted them, and ate in silence. He glanced at her, noticing how puffy her eyes were from the crying.

He was amazed that he had not started crying yet himself, but he figured it was partially because of the adrenaline pumping through his blood stream. Partially, he also wanted to support and impress Platinum. He frowned, feeling selfish for a second, but quickly shook it off. Pearl would understand completely... If he was there.

"Platinum?" he said, carefully. "Perhaps we should try to find a hotel. We need somewhere to stay, and if we get a room we'll have somewhere to store our bags, so we can go visit Pearl. Alright?"

She nodded, glancing at him.

"Dia?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you... Would you mind if we shared a single two-bed room?"

"S-sorry, what?" he asked, wanting to make sure he had heard correctly.

"There is no one I trust more than you and Pearl," she said, looking at him. "So I know you wouldn't try anything funny. It's just... I am not sure I could feel safe enough to sleep, alone. You know?"

He nodded. Of course he knew. He felt the same way, even if he would never be brave enough to ask something like that of her. He felt his admiration for his female friend grow, and he gave her a tired smile.


	12. Chapter 12

"You guys done down there?" Gold called out, from halfway up the stairs. Yellow blushed, but Red simply rolled his eyes.

"We're not doing anything!" he yelled back. There was a moment of silence, then Gold came down, followed by Wally, Ruby and Sapphire. They all sat down in the living room, Ruby and Sapphire deliberately choosing spots far away from each other. They all sat in silence for a while.

"So..." Yellow said, wanting to disrupt the slightly awkward atmosphere. "Anyone want to see what is on TV?"

"Sure," Gold said, "I have the remote over here, I think... Ah, yeah, there it is."

He turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels. Despite Yellow having at least two dozen channels to choose from, there seemed to be nothing on a Friday afternoon. Gold shrugged and handed the remote over to Red, who turned on the news.

"Might as well see how that vote is going," he said. However, instead of coverage from inside the Pokemon Association chambers, they were showing what looked like a war zone outside. There were cars on fire, broken windows and even a burning store. Pokemon and human alike scuffled back and forth on the streets around the magnificent building the Association resided in. In the background, there were sounds of attacks being launched, or hitting their targets.

Riot police with Machamp and other strong, resilient Pokemon were trying to deny entrance to a large group of protesters that were in turn trying to enter the building. Minor fighting seemed to be everywhere, intensifying in some areas at times.

"Oh," Ruby said, leaning forward. "That's not good."

* * *

"This is excellent," one costumed man said.

"Is it?" another asked, looking unsettled. "What if they actually manage to get inside the building? Your man did too good a job, it seems."

"Nonsense. They will not get in here," the first said. "We have far too many forces in the area for that to happen."

"Yeah, and besides," a third one added, rubbing his swollen red nose, "we have an escape plan if it doesn't work out."

"We will add the second part of the proposition immediately," the first man said. "Media is too busy covering the fighting to notice, while many of the Association members will be shaken enough by the events to vote for our ideals."

"It is a risk," the other man pointed out. "If we overstep our boundaries, they will vote against it and the whole plan-"

"There is always a risk," the first one interrupted. "Second part, today. As soon as we get back in after this break, while they still have the fresh memories of burning cities and fighting."

"As you wish, then."

* * *

As he landed in the nearly deserted alley, several blocks from the protests and fighting, Silver wondered if they had possibly overdone it. Blue rushed up to him, and together they approached their opponent and captive.

"Stay back!" the man wailed, clutching his leg. Silver saw it was bent at a weird angle, probably broken. Instead of stopping, he simply gestured for Blue to take up defensive position, in case the man had backup.

"Who are you?" Silver asked, kneeling next to the man.

"Team Rocket!" the man snarled. "You won't get anything else from me, you Association dogs! I will-"

"You will tell me the truth," Silver said, calmly. "For your own convenience."

"I come from Team Rocket," the man insisted. "They would not negotiate for my return, so you may as well ship me off to prison."

Silver blinked, then slowly pulled out a textile patch from his breast pocket.

"Do you see this?" he asked the man, holding it out. "This is a Team Rocket membership badge, designed by Giovanni himself." The man moaned, his eyes widening in terror as he realized his mistake.

"Y-you're not Association?"

"Of course not!" Silver snapped, waving the patch in his face. "Does this look Association to you? Now tell me, who are you and who do you work for?"

"Go to hell, criminal!"

Silver sighed and got to his feet. Blue turned to meet his eyes, then gave him a slight nod. He spun around, kicking the man's broken leg, hard. The Man in Black screamed, clutching the wounded limb, but Silver just tapped it with the tip of his toes again.

"Who do you work for?"

"You won't get me to talk," the man replied, giving him a defiant look. "I have been trained to withstand far worse torture than you would be willing to inflict."

"That should narrow it down, then," Silver replied drily. "Just tell me the truth and I'll let you go. It's not like anyone would listen to a Team Rocket member anyways, is it? I wouldn't have any proof to show anyone but myself, and my colleague here. Trust me, you may be trained to _resist_ pain, but we are both _very_ well trained when it comes to _inflicting_ pain."

He added the last little lie with the hopes that it would scare the man. The Man in Black looked around, then beckoned him closer. Silver fell to his knees again, nodding to show that he was listening.

"There are... certain elements, within the Association. They are not happy with the current situation. They have plans to deal with them, and getting this law through is the first stage. I really can not tell you anything else."

Silver nodded, getting back to his feet once more. "That is all I needed to know, for now. Shall we go, B?"

"Yes," Blue replied. "That would probably be wise."

"I suggest you stay out of trouble," Silver told the man. "I do not want to have to find you again."

He held on to Blue and her Blastoise, and together they shot upwards, once again withdrawing to the rooftops of the city in chaos.


	13. Chapter 13

_The next day, early morning._

Yellow woke up to the sound of someone knocking softly on the door of her room. She looked at Sapphire, who was next to her. The younger girl had also been woken up by the sound. There was another knock, more urgent this time. Yellow slipped out of the bed and straightened her nightgown.

"Yes?"

"It's me!" Red said from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"No!" Yellow yelled back, frantically trying to pull a couple of pants on as quickly as possible. "S-stay, I'll come out!"

She managed to get her jeans on, buttoned them quickly and slipped a shirt over her head. When she finally slipped out the door, Red was leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed over his chest, waiting. He looked serious.

"Red, it's very early," she said, frowning. "Did something happen?"

"Not yet," he said, looking over to the guestroom door. Wally was stumbling out, while buttoning his shirt. She saw only a glimpse of Ruby inside, but he also seemed to be completely dressed. "We need to have a meeting, downstairs."

"What is going on?"

"There are some... Disturbing news," Red told her. "Green sent me a message, telling me to check the TV. Please, tell Sapphire to join you and come downstairs."

Yellow nodded and hurried back into her room, a fist of cold worry gripping her heart. She told Sapphire to come, but could only offer a shrug when the younger girl asked why. A couple of minutes later, they joined the four boys in the living room. The TV news were on, and they had started helping themselves to cereal and sandwiches.

"Breakfast so early?" Yellow asked, raising an eyebrow. Sapphire groaned beside her. "Red-"

"Look, and listen," the older boy said, pointing at the screen. She looked, her mouth gaping open as she took in the images of destruction. It was, however, the audio that made her react the strongest.

… _casualties are in the dozens in the Kanto region alone. As a result of this disturbance, believed to have been caused by none other than crime syndicate Team Rocket, a special Emergency Act was passed in the Association late last night. The Act specifies that anyone deemed dangerous will be forced either to swear loyalty to the Association, or face arrest. The formation of a special committee for deciding..._

"I don't understand," Yellow said. "What does this have to do with us?"

"Don't you see?" Gold asked her, gritting his teeth. "We're going to count as dangerous individuals."

"What? But-"

"Green sent me a message warning me about that," Red explained. "Because all dexholders have large combat records, all dexholders will be subject to this law. Several of us have also, directly or indirectly, caused damage to civilian property. They do not care that we did it in a fight against Team Rocket, or whatever, only that we are controlled."

"By them," Gold added.

"So... We will let them register us?" Yellow asked, surprised at being classified as dangerous by anyone.

"That will be up to us all, individually," Red told her. "However, there is more."

"Silver contacted me today," Gold said. "He is with Blue right now. He says they are working with Team Rocket."

"What?" Yellow said, her eyes widening in horror. Gold put a hand up to stop her from interrupting further.

"He told me Team Rocket is definitely not behind this," he said. "In fact, he told me that him and Blue managed to capture a guy that said he worked for the Association. Well, part of it."

"Green is going to take the loyalty oath," Red said, shaking his head in amazement. "I have no idea what he is thinking. Emerald is with him, and will most likely do the same."

Yellow hesitated only for a moment, then nodded.

"What will you all do?" she asked. There was a moments hesitation, but Red answered first.

"I will hide for now," he said. "Disguise myself if I need to enter a town village. Something is going on, and I will not swear loyalty to the Association without knowing exactly what. It will be dangerous, but-"

"I'll come with you," Yellow interrupted. She looked down on her feet, knowing that she was blushing furiously. "I will come with you, wherever you have to go."

"It will be dangerous," Red repeated. "I can't ask you to come."

"You're not asking, and you will not talk me out of it."

"I will come too," Gold said, but this time Red shook his head.

"Sorry Gold, but no."

"What? Why?"

"Listen, this thing... We will be doing illegal things. Things that the Association will not like. I know _you_ have no problems with that, but Crystal... she would have to abandon her own research, _and_ put Professor Oak at risk, to be able to come with us. Not only that, but someone might try to use her to get to you."

Gold closed his eyes and leaned back in the armchair with a flopping sound, then nodded.

"You're right, of course," he sighed. "I really wish you weren't, but you are. Fine, I will stay in Pallet Town with her, for now. However, if you find anything..."

"You will be the first to know," Red promised. "Ruby, Sapphire, Wally, what about you? Are you going back to Hoenn, or coming with us?"

"Well," Ruby replied, "I will join, at least. You need someone to make disguises in case you need to buy something in a store, right?"

"I will come too,"Sapphire said. They all turned to Wally, awaiting his answer.

"Well," the green haired boy said, obviously uncomfortable. "I have a question, to start with. Ruby, what about your father? He is part of the Association, he might be in trouble if you leave like this."

"Dad can take care of himself," Ruby said, looking away. "If he supports the Association even with those rules, that is his choice. I can't let his actions determine mine, not anymore."

"I understand," Wally said, nodding. "I would love to join you. Sadly, I must decline."

"Why?"

"My illness," he replied, smiling sadly. "While it is rarely noticeable anymore, I could get you into trouble if it started acting up during a fight. Sorry, but I think I would just get in your way. I do wish you the best of luck, though."

They sat in silence for a few seconds, then Red got to his feet.

"Alright then, those who are coming must be packed in a couple of hours," he said. "We need to move quickly, before they send their agents here. Gold and Wally, you should get ready to travel as well. Come on everyone."


	14. Chapter 14

When Red returned into the house after waving goodbye to Gold and Wally, he felt glum and confused. He knew what he had to do, but he had no idea how to do it. He had no idea why Green would still support the Association, but he knew that he had to find out what was going on – especially if Blue and Silver were correct about someone manipulating the Association.

"Hey," Yellow said, giving him a soft hug. "It'll be alright. You always find a way."

"You knew what I was thinking about?" he asked, surprised, but she just laughed.

"It _is_ quite obvious that you are concerned," Ruby supplied from over by the stairs. "We have packed our clothing and whatever food we could fit into our packs. Yellow, Sapphire was wondering if you have any rope, string or stuff like that? It would be useful if we need to set traps or build shelter and such."

"I think I might have some, I'll go help her look!" Yellow replied, rushing out of the room and up the stairs. Ruby came down and looked around, as if making sure him and Red were really alone.

"We really are doing this, then?"

"Yeah," Red replied, shrugging. "The Association is working hard to minimize possible threats against itself, and I want to know why and what they are planning. Are you sure you really want to come? It'll be dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as Sapphire if I didn't go," Ruby said, smiling. "She can be very... convincing. She wants to help, so I do as well."

"Thanks. I am happy I won't be going alone, even though I _am _worried."

"About her?" Ruby said, motioning towards the upper floor, where Yellow was loudly rummaging about. Red thought for a second, then nodded.

"Partially, yes. But it is for people like her I am doing this in the first place, so it's only fair that I let her come along. I guess it is kind of like what you are doing for Sapphire, right?"

"Sapphire and me are... complicated. I try to keep her out of danger, but she is drawn to it by instinct. We are different though. You protect Yellow for her sake, while I protect Sapphire because I am selfish."

"Selfish?" Red asked, raising an eyebrow. Ruby bit his lower lip, his eyes flicking towards the stair quickly before he replied.

"I told her that I forgot our love confessions," he said, looking ashamed. "She understands that I am lying, but not why... and it is hurting her. The truth is that I am just too damn scared that we _will_ get together and that I will lose her. I hoped that by remaining friends only, I would suffer less if she... You know."

They were silent for a while, then Red nodded slowly.

"Is it working?" he asked. Ruby frowned.

"What?"

"Is it working? Do you feel less attached to her? If she died, would you 'suffer less'?"

"What? No! I feel as strongly as ever. If she died, I would be devastated no matter what!"

"So why keep up the lies?" Red asked, softly. "If you tell her the truth, I am sure she'd understand."

"Maybe," Ruby replied, doubtfully.

"If you keep lying, on the other hand, she might find someone else," Red continued, but there was no edge to the words. "We only have limited time for things like that, so you really shouldn't let fear get in the way. Right?"

"Right."

* * *

Platinum woke up to the sound of her Pokegear blaring. She looked at the screen and saw that it was a message alarm. She opened it and was surprised to see that the message had been sent by Red. Dia was sitting on the other bed in the room, giving her a little smile as she looked up.

"Glad to see you slept better than me," he said.

"Not much," she replied, shaking her head. The nightmares she could deal with, but she had also woken up once every few minutes, convinced she was under attack. She read the message, then immediately wished she hadn't.

"What is it?" Dia asked instantly. "You look pale. Well, paler than before. Did you receive a message?"

She nodded, handing him the device. He read the message slowly, then nodded, looking troubled as well.

"He suggests we go into hiding, if possible," Dia said, thinking. "But he doesn't know what happened to Pearl yet, as we never sent a message to the others about that."

"Hiding could also put my father and Rowan in danger," Platinum commented, sighing. "Do you think we should reply?"

"I'll send him a message, tell him what happened," Dia said. "After that, do you want to get something to eat? You haven't had any food since lunch, yesterday."

"Yeah. But I want to go visit Pearl at the hospital, as well. I know they said they would call when he woke up, but I want to go there anyways."

"We can get something to eat on the way there," Dia said, giving her a soothing smile. "Pearl is strong, so we really shouldn't worry, but I am certain he will be happy to know we visited while he was out."

* * *

"What happened yesterday made our situation even worse," Giovanni said. "If this man you spoke to really does work for a group of Association members not happy with their organization, they must have some other motive than just forcing people to be loyal to it. We need to find out what that motive is, so I really wish you'd have brought him back here."

"We really were not in a situation to bring him in," Silver replied.

"I understand," Giovanni sighed. "No matter. Surge is currently following another lead, so I hope he will be able to uncover some more information that we may use. Now, the two of you should go do some more training. You may need it in the days and weeks to come."

"Yes father," Silver said, nodding. He and Blue exited the room, leaving Giovanni alone. The Team Rocket leader looked at the door for a while, then got to his feet. He locked the door, then used his Crobats Sonic attacks to scan the room for any bugs that might have been planted since his last check. Finally satisfied, he turned on the secured video phone hidden in a locker behind his desk.

"Sir," Surge said the instant connection was established.

"Have you found anything?" Giovanni asked.

"Yes, some of the Association members have been sneaking massive funds into some hidden project. I will try to gain access to base coordinates so I can go there and check it out."

"One more thing. Our two newest members found a man in Saffron City that claimed to be working for us. Some quick interrogation revealed that his real employers is a group from the Association. He started the riot there."

Surge was silent for a while, then nodded.

"Makes sense. Let Saffron burn to scare the others to their side. Do you have him there now?"

"No, they were unable to bring him in. If you review televised footage from the protests, you may be able to see what he looks like. Surge, we are dealing with well-funded and very dangerous people here. From what we have seen so far, they stop at nothing to achieve their goals."

"Like us then," Surge said with a grin. "I'll be careful, but we must figure out what they are doing, and if them achieving their goal might stop us from achieving _our _goals. Surge out."

Giovanni gave him a nod of confirmation, and the connection broke. He sat there for a while, eyes on the dark screen, then sighed and put it away before getting back to work.


	15. Chapter 15

They had been walking fast for nearly four hours straight when Ruby, panting heavily, suggested that they take a short break.

"Yer such a weakling," Sapphire snorted, but Red stopped and put his pack down.

"It's not a bad idea," he said. "We need to figure out where we're going."

"So what's the plan?" Ruby asked, seating himself on a rock nearby.

"We'll need to get closer to a town," Red replied. "My Pokegear ain't got any connection here, so we can't contact Blue and Silver, or anyone else. We also need to stay hidden."

"So we gotta find a place that lets us do both," Sapphire said, leaning against a tree.

"Yup."

"Actually, I might know a place," Yellow said. She tore a page from her sketch book and quickly jotted down a small map. "Pokegears used to go via cable between Johto and Kanto, but Pokemon in the forest would rip the cables and cause problems. They replaced them with signal amplifier towers. We should get better connection close to them, and they only send someone to check them once a month or so."

"Wait," Sapphire said. "How do ya know all this?"

"I worked with those who built it, to make sure they would choose spots likely not to upset too many Pokemon," Yellow replied, shrugging. "They contacted me since I know much of the forest."

"The Association might be able to figure that out," Ruby pointed out. "If they speak with the company that hired you."

"We'll take the risk," Red told them. "We stay as close as we have to to get a connection, and only until we decide what's next."

* * *

Gold had reached Pallet Town and told Crystal about what had happened. She had nodded and accepted his decision, so he felt a bit better. His good mood came to an end when he received a phone call, a few minutes later.

"Hey Gold, it's Dia. Uh, we've been trying to reach Red, but he isn't replying to the messages we sent. Do you know where he is?"

"No," Gold replied, truthfully. "Did you get his message?"

"Yeah. We can't do what he said, though. Pearl was injured during the riots yesterday, and-"

"What? How badly?" Gold interrupted loudly, getting to his feet. Crystal looked over at him and frowned.

"He's in the hospital right now," Dia explained. "We'll all be stuck in Saffron City for a while. We're staying at a hotel here."

"Listen, you don't understand! You have to- yow!"

"What happened?" Dia asked, sounding concerned. Gold glared at Crystal, who had just thrown a Pokeball in his head and was looking apologetic.

"Nothing," Gold assured him. "Hold on two seconds. What, Crys?"

"Certain things should _not_ be mentioned over the phone!" Crystal whispered to him. He opened his mouth to retort, but realized she was right. If the line was being monitored, sending warnings like that might put them in even greater danger.

"Alright Dia," he said into the phone. "Stay there until Pearl is well, and stay in touch. Gold out."

He hung up the phone and turned away from Crystal, shoulders slumping. He realized he should have asked _how_ Pearl got wounded, and how they had ended up in the riots to start with, but right then he just felt tired.

"It'll be alright," Crystal said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Will they?" he said, sounding more bitter than intended. "Sorry. It's just... We are all so split up right now. I always thought we'd fight together, but now I don't even know if we're on the same side."

"Everyone must do what feels right to them," Crystal replied, pulling him around. He looked into her eyes, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness he had about the situation. With two dexholders working for the Association, two for Team Rocket and four of them alone in some unknown location, they were more fragmented than ever before.

* * *

Agent Roberts knocked on the door a third time, though with little hope that anyone would open. He looked back at the three other agents that had come with him, then fastened his attention on an older man that was walking towards them.

"You there!" he barked at the man. "This _is_ the house of the trainer known as Yellow, right?"

The man looked at him, scratching the back of his head before replying.

"Who wants to know?"

"I work for the Association," he told the man, who looked unimpressed. "My orders are to find and speak to this Yellow and some of her friends. Is this her house or not?"

"How do I know ya ain't just a bunch of fancy lookin' burglars?" the older man asked, giving him a lopsided grin that revealed several missing teeth. Agent Roberts had to work hard to contain his anger at some old guy refusing to answer a simple question.

"I have a badge right here!" he snarled, holding it out, only to receive another grin.

"Ain't got my readin' glasses on, son. As for Yellow, she went camping with some friends, I believe."

"In this forest?"

"Probably not," the old man replied, shrugging. "She knows it inside out, so 'nother location would be more interesting I believe. Now, ya don' go causin' that girl any trouble. If ya do, you'll have the town to answer to. She helps out everyone here, y'see."

"I'm sure she does," Roberts replied coolly, beaconing his men to follow as he walked away from the house. "Good day, sir."

"I'll be keepin' an eye on that house!" the old man yelled after them. "If I see ya snoopin' round, I'll call the police on ya!"

Roberts gritted his teeth, dutifully keeping himself from running back and hitting the old man for being so infuriating and unhelpful. With a sigh, he steered his steps towards the gym, hoping for a more friendly welcome there.


	16. Chapter 16

"I am _not _happy about this, Robertson," Green said, in a voice so cool the Association agent felt chills run down his spine.

"Sir, I am just doing my job!" he protested, but the gym leader gave him an angry glare.

"Your job is to interrupt my training sessions?" he snarled. "Sure, you came here because you were ordered to. I can understand that. What I do _not_ understand is why there was such a hurry for you to speak with me that you could not wait for a few minutes."

"I will let you get back to your training as soon as you have renewed your oath to the Association, and answered a couple of questions," Robertson promised, bowing his head. "Your friend, Emerald, already swore his loyalty while you were preparing to meet us."

"Very well," Green sighed. "I swear that my loyalty will forever be in the best interests of this Nation. I will cherish this loyalty, and I shall honor it even if it costs me my health, my friends and my position. Those are the words, right?"

"Yes, at least close enough," Robertson confirmed. When Green turned around to stride out of the room, he held up a hand. "Wait!"

Green stopped, but did not reply or turn around.

"I had a question. About the other dexholders from this region."

"What about them?" Green asked.

"I need to know where they are. We can't find them."

"But agent Robertson," Green said, turning around to give him a curious smile. "If you can't find them... Why would I be able to?"

With that, he exited the room, leaving Robertson standing there, feeling disoriented. After a couple of seconds, he collected himself and left the gym to report back to the Association.

* * *

Red looked up. They were on a hill, several kilometers away from the large tower that reached up above the trees.

"We should get down from here," Ruby said, looking around. "If they have bird Pokemon scouting for us..."

"Yer paranoid," Sapphire replied, smiling slightly. Yellow realized that the other girl had been thinking the same way, though. They made their way down the gentle slope of the hill, then resumed their walk towards the large tower. Red had been monitoring his pokegear for the last few minutes, but only on the top of the hill had he gotten any kind of connection.

"Still nothing?" Yellow asked, looking at the screen. Red shook his head.

"It was at fifteen percent on the hill, now it's down below five again," he told her, pointing at the small icon indicating how many percent connection the pokegear phone had. If she remembered correctly, they would need at least thirty percent to send and receive messages.

"Perhaps we should continue tomorrow?" she suggested, looking up to the increasingly dark sky. They had been walking for the whole day, stopping only a few times to rest, eat and refill their water bottles in clean streams. Red looked at the pokegear again. It was still showing less than five percent, so he nodded tiredly.

"Alright, let's set up camp and get some dinner. We'll continue early tomorrow."

* * *

Surge did not even try to hide his irritation at being delayed to his meeting with Giovanni. The guard had bowed and apologized for it several times since it happened, but Surge had paid him no attention as he made his way through the Team Rocket base.

"Sir," he said, as he entered Giovanni's office. "I have found some clues that could help us figure out what this group we are after wants. I did not find _where_ the project is, but I did find some info on what the money has been used for."

Giovanni accepted the file Surge handed to him, quickly skimmed through the text and frowned. Energy amplifiers, cables, broadcasting antennae...

"Any idea what this might mean?"

"No sir," Surge replied. "But it can't be good, if they are hiding it from the rest of the Association, right?"

"It depends," Giovanni said, thinking. "Send a copy of this to our lead scientist, ask him to make a list of possible uses for the different parts. Pretend that we found them in an abandoned warehouse, or whatever. Oh, and another question for you."

"Yes?"

"Since you could find this information, wouldn't the Association know about it as well?"

"It's illegal for them to spy on Association members," Surge replied, frowning. "You know that as well as I do."

"I do," Giovanni said, putting his hands together. "But I do not believe for one second that they would follow that law, unless..."

"Unless the guy in charge of that section is involved!" Surge finished, suddenly understanding. "I will look into that. It might give us another lead to find out what is going on."

"Do so, and do not hesitate to ask if you need any expenses covered."

"Have I ever?" Surge replied, grinning.


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey Dia? Dia, is that you?"

"Red?" Dia replied, his voice almost drowned out by static. "I can barely hear you. I sent you a message, did you get it?"

"Uh, no. No message. What did it say?"

"We're stuck in Saffron City," Dia told him. "Pearl is in the hospital."

"What?" Red asked, flinching as the static grew in volume again. "Hospital?"

"He was attacked by a man that claimed to be in Team Rocket, though we have no idea if that's tr-"

"Say again?" Red asked. "If that's _what_, Dia? Dammit, lost connection!"

"He said Team Rocket!" Yellow whispered. "Red, that might mean Blue and Silver are in trouble. We must call them!"

"Not sure if we can," Red sighed. "We'll have to get closer to the tower."

"Let's go then!" Sapphire said, pulling a protesting Ruby to his feet.

* * *

Silver frowned when his Pokegear started making noises. He pulled it out and answered, but heard only static.

"That's weird," he muttered. There was more static, then a sharp noise before the call ended. Silver lowered the Pokegear, opening the call history. Blue leaned over and looked at the screen.

"Who's calling?" she asked.

"Not sure. You know this number?"

She looked at the screen, then hauled out her own Pokegear and compared it to her contacts. After a few seconds, she found a match.

"It's Red," she said. "Guess he wants some news."

"Tell him what we're up to," Blue said, shrugging. "But be a bit cryptic about it."

"I would, but the call ended," Silver replied. "I'll send him a message, but after that I have to turn this thing off. Wouldn't be good to get distracted during battle."

He opened the message function, quickly typing in _Hey, on TR business in Pew. Will contact you later. _

"Think this is good?" he asked, showing Blue. She looked at it quickly, then nodded. Silver sent the message to Red, then shut his Pokegear off. The two of them were sitting alone in the back of a van, on the way to an intercept point. Giovanni had told them that the key to figuring out the Association's final step might be in the transport they were ambushing.

* * *

Red swore, shaking his Pokegear as if it would help the signal increase. To his surprise, it gave a weak _pling_, indicating a message had arrived. He opened it and read it quickly, then swore again.

"What is it?" Yellow asked worriedly.

"I think they're in Pewter with Team Rocket," he replied. "Maybe if we go there, we can talk to them."

"But that is far away!" Yellow objected.

"Sapphire, you've got your Tropius with you, right?"

"Pilo? Yeah, me an' Ruby can fly on him."

"Good," Red replied, nodding. "Yellow, can Kitty carry you all the way over there?"

"Yes, but not very fast."

"You'll be on Aero with me then. We all agree on going?"

The others nodded. Red called out Aero as Sapphire released Pilo from it's Pokeball. He jumped up on the back of his Aerodactyl, then pulled Yellow up in front of him. The two large, flying Pokemon took off towards Pewter City.

* * *

Surge, being in charge of the assault, had gathered everyone on a field a bit outside Pewter City. It was him, Silver, Blue and about a dozen of the Team Rocket Elite.

"Right, we're gonna go in and out," he said, looking around at his subordinates. "Our objective is to grab the cargo and leave. This means we do not stick around, even if resistance is minimal. We need whatever is on that truck."

There was a general murmur of consensus from the group, and he nodded approvingly.

"The plan is simple. We attack as the truck drives along that mountain road," Surge said, pointing at the distant mountain. "Silver, Blue. The two of you will trap them by causing rock slides in front of and behind the vehicle. The rest of us will move in, neutralize any opposition and grab the contents. Got it?"

"What if they have backup waiting?" Silver asked.

"Then we destroy them too," Surge replied, flashing him a wide grin. "It's been a while since I've had a good battle!"

"Whatever," Silver sighed. "Just make sure to keep their casualties down. We don't want our image to get any worse, right?"

Surge blinked, then nodded determinedly.

"You heard the kid. Let's move out!"


	18. Chapter 18

The plan started out as supposed to, with Silver and Blue tearing down rocks to block the road of the Association truck. Some problems arrived quickly, though, in the form of additional vehicles from the Association.

"Surge, we have problems," Silver said via Pokegear.

"I see them," the other replied. "You two, go try to stop those trucks from getting too close to this one. Cause another rock slide if you have to."

"Got it."

Silver and Blue took off along the cliff, ready to battle if needed. Surge watched them for a second, then turned to his second-in-command.

"We don't need to make it easy for the Association. Whip up a sandstorm, should cover what we're doing for a bit, at least."

* * *

When Red and the others arrived in Pewter, they saw nothing out of the ordinary in the city itself.

"Are you sure it was here?" Yellow asked. Red nodded, then called Sapphire on his Pokegear.

"Ya?"

"You two see anything?" he asked.

"Nothin'," she replied. "We should follow the roads, might be near them."

"There's something!" Ruby yelled.

"The mountains," Sapphire clarified for Red, as he could not see where Ruby was pointing via the Pokegear. Red and Yellow both turned their heads too look. Sure enough, a large dust cloud shrouded parts of the mountainside. There seemed to be Pokemon battles going on in at least two locations somewhere inside the cloud.

"You take the left one, we go right," Red told the others. He shut the Pokegear off, then steered Aero towards one of the disturbances. Ruby and Sapphire quickly soared to the other.

"What if it's not them?" Yellow asked.

"We can take care of ourselves," Red replied. "The others can, too."

"Alright."

They circled through the dust cloud, trying to spot anyone on the cliffs behind. There seemed to be some large trucks stuck below, but no signs of Team Rocket, or any of their friends. Someone in one of the trucks attacked them, but they easily avoided the attack.

"Let's go a bit higher," Red muttered, letting his Aerodactyl gain some altitude. He frowned as he saw two people standing on a cliff far above the vehicles. "Is that them?"

Yellow looked up, but she could only see the silhouettes of two people with long hair. She shook her head.

"No idea, you have to get closer!"

Red tapped Aero on the side of his neck, and the flying Pokemon shot forward. Yellow held on tighter to avoid slipping off, but she assumed Red would catch her before that happened. They managed to land on the cliff, about twenty meters from the two silhouettes, and Red returned Aero to its Pokeball.

"Stop right there!" one of the others yelled. Yellow felt her spirits lift, as she recognized Silver's voice.

"It's us!" Red shouted back through the dust storm. "That you, Silver?"

"Red?" came Blue's voice. They quickly ran to each other, meeting in the middle. "Yellow? What are you two doing here?"

"Heard you would be here, so came to talk with you," Red replied as Blue hugged them both. "Listen, bad news. I got a call from Dia earlier. Pearl is in the hospital in Saffron, he was attacked by someone that claimed to be a Team Rocket member."

"That was Pearl?" Silver asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You _knew_ about that?"

"It's not what you think," Silver told him. "The two of us caught that guy, he's not Team Rocket. He was just pretending to be, to incite the crowd. We saw him attack someone, but not who that was."

"What are you up to here?" Red asked, peering down over the edge of the cliff. The trucks below were still stuck, but he saw some kind of movement.

"Keeping these people away while Surge grabs some equipment from the other truck further down the road," Silver told them. "It might help us figure out what plans the Association has, hopefully."

"Ruby and Sapphire went there," Red told him. "I'll call them and tell them to back off."

He tried twice, but nothing happened.

"No signal."

"Maybe the sandstorm is blocking it?" Blue suggested. Red bit his lip and nodded.

"C'mon Yellow, we'll fly there and tell them."

"We have to stay here, but good luck," Silver told him.

"I'd prefer not to see you two with Team Rocket."

"I know, but we have to. For now. Stay in touch!"

Red and Yellow took off once again, through the dust.

* * *

Ruby and Sapphire had landed a bit away from the activity they had spotted. Following the road, they had been forced to climb over a pile of rocks before reaching a vehicle. They split up, with Ruby crawling between the cliff and the truck, while Sapphire half-walked and half-climbed on the outer side. The outside of the truck held no clues to what he might find inside, but about halfway around it he found a door.

"Sapphire?" he yelled across the roof of the vehicle, but he received no response. The dust around them seemed to drown out all noise, so he was not sure she had even heard him. He did not worry about her having fallen, since Pilo would have caught her if she did.

After a second of hesitation, he grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. There were some protests from inside as dust and sand was blown into the truck by the strong wind. He frowned, having expected the truck to hold items. Instead, at least a dozen people of varying age and gender were huddled inside.

"Are we at the facility?" one of them asked. "Who are you?"

"Facility?" Ruby asked. "I am-"

"No one important," someone interrupted from behind him. He spun around, then felt something sharp stab into him. His mouth fell open, while blood poured from the large wound in his stomach. The silhouette of his attacker seemed to turn away from him, and then his vision went too blurry to see what was going on. He wanted to shout out, to warn Sapphire about the danger, or even get her to come help him, but his voice failed. He was alone.


	19. Chapter 19

Sapphire sighed, swinging around to the front of the vehicle. She had heard Ruby call her name, so she was hoping he had found something more interesting than she had. There was someone on the ground next to the vehicle. With a sense of urgency, she ran to it.

"Ruby!"

"Oh," he gasped, looking up at her. "Hey."

"W-wha... Who did this?" she managed, falling to her knees beside him. "I'll stop the bleedin', just don't move an-"

"Too late," he whispered. "Sorry."

"Not your fault."

"No, not that. I lied to you, for so long. I was scared-"

He started coughing, a worrying amount of blood spraying from his mouth. Sapphires eyes were blurry with tears, which dripped down to mix with the blood and dirt on her friend's clothing.

"Ruby, shut up. Ya will make it."

"Liar," he replied, smiling. "I love you Saph. I do. I really lo..."

She could barely hear the storm over the blood thundering through her ears. This could not be happening. It could not be real. With a clumsy move, she shut his eyes. He would be annoyed if he had dust in them when he woke up.

"You too," she muttered, staggering to her feet, leaning on the vehicle for support. "I told you that, didn't I? Ruby?"

The vehicle also had a fair amount of dust in it. She could see it through the open hatch, covering the seats and floor and... bodies. She managed to take three steps away from the truck, before falling to her knees. She threw up the stale bread and canned food she had eaten for breakfast only hours earlier, then fell over to the side, wailing in despair.

* * *

Red let Aero roll to the side, avoiding an attack from some Association convoy guard below. Yellow held on tightly, to avoid sliding off.

"Do you see them?" Red shouted over the wind. Yellow looked at the slim mountain road below, shaking her head. The sandstorm had died down, but a lot of dust was still swirling around.

"I don't see either of them, we're too far away!"

"Alright," Red told her. "We can get closer. I have to focus on avoiding attacks, though. You will have to look for them."

He did another roll, then swooped in low above the road. Most of the guards threw themselves on the ground, or in behind some vehicle, so he only had to avoid a couple of attacks. Yellow clambered on, paying attention to the ground flashing past beneath them.

"Over by that truck, I think!" she yelled, pointing. He looked up, then steered around a small cliff that was sticking out, before landing on the vehicle she had indicated. His mouth fell open as he saw Ruby lying in the dust. Their younger friend was completely immobile, his body and the ground around him covered in blood.

"Stay on Aero and try to find Sapphire," he told Yellow, dismounting. "I'll try to-"

He did not get any further than that. An attack hit the vehicle, knocking him off his feet. He tumbled over the edge, and the world started spinning...


	20. Chapter 20

Yellow held her breath as Aero plummeted after Red down the side of the cliff. It was nearly vertical, and the wind rushed by so fast her eyes teared up. A bit more than halfway down, they caught up with their target, and the large flying Pokemon slid its claws around Red's arms.

"Thanks," Red gasped. Yellow started breathing again, letting out a relieved laugh, before remembering what they had seen up on the cliff.

"Red, we have to go back!"

"Impossible," he yelled up to her. "There are too many of them. It's too late for Ruby, and Sapphire... I don't know."

Yellow closed her eyes, knowing he was right. The risk of going back was just too big. No matter how much she wanted to help Sapphire, they did not even know where she was.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Up into the mountains," Red replied. "We need to hide somewhere, regroup. Preferably not too close to here, maybe further east."

"First, perhaps we should land, get you up here on the back instead of hanging below?"

"... Yeah, thanks."

They flew on in silence, and it struck Yellow as unreal how badly things were going. They had been out for less than a week, and already they had lost half their little group. She glanced back toward the cliff, hoping Sapphire would make it out safely.

* * *

_Pallet Town, the next morning..._

Professor Oak swept into the lab, a bag in each hand. He looked tense, but said nothing as he put the bags on a table and turned to the two others in the room.

"You seem tense," Gold remarked, frowning. "Did something happen?"

"You... You have to leave, right away," Oak said, looking troubled. Gold frowned even deeper. The professor had assured them they could stay, so for him to change his mind something terrible must have happened.

"Why?" Crystal asked. Oak did not reply. Instead, he turned on the large TV mounted on the wall of the laboratory.

_… commentary on that later. As mentioned earlier, the biggest news story today was the attack on a Pokemon Association convoy. Several distinguished researchers and engineers were killed in the attack, along with members of their families. One of the attackers, a seventeen year old boy named Ruby, was also found dead._

"What?" Gold yelled, jumping to his feet. "Professor-"

"Wait, there's more," Oak interrupted. Gold opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then turned back to the TV. The news show was showing footage of ruined vehicles and destroyed cliffs. Then photos of Gold, Crystal and the other dexholders popped into view and the commentary started again.

_ This exceedingly dangerous group, known simply as 'dexholders', are suspected of being behind this attack. It is unknown if all of them participated, or only a few. For national security, the Pokemon Association has decided to vastly increase surveillance of the known members, as well as their associates. Any suspicion will lead to indefinite imprisonment, until it has been proven that the suspicion was incorrect._

"We have to leave for that?" Gold asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can deal with a bit of surveillance."

"Don't you get it?" Crystal asked, her voice tinged with worry. "This means they can lock us up whenever it fits them! Instead of being innocent until proven otherwise, we'll be _guilty_ until proven otherwise. We wouldn't even be able to protest their actions without risking prison."

"Ah, so that's it."

"If you hurry and pack your things, I can say you were gone before I woke up," Professor Oak told them. "It might be enough to keep me from being punished."

"Ya got it Oak!" Gold replied, snatching one of the bags.

"Take care, professor."

"I will, Crystal," he replied with a vague smile. "I just wish I could figure out how they manage to get these laws through. We're not in that big of a crisis, even if assuming Team Rocket are back and evil."

"Well, we'll see ya again when you figure it out," Gold said, slapping him lightly on the back. "So hurry up already, will ya?"

Gold left the room, and Oak flashed Crystal a grin before she hurried off after him.

* * *

_Somewhere in the mountains outside Pewter City..._

Sapphire was staring straight ahead, ignoring the occasional movement of clouds or Pokemon at the edges of her vision. She was leaning against a large rock. It was uncomfortable, but she did not care. Her knees, and the palms of her hands, were scraped and covered in dried blood and dirt. She did not care about that either. The dull ache did not mean anything to her, and the risk of infection had not even crossed her mind.

Her Pokemon were a bit away, leaving her alone. With them were Ruby's Pokemon. She had retrieved them from his belt before escaping. A few drops of water hit her, and she looked up. The sky was covered in clouds. It started raining. Little at first, but it quickly turned into a real downpour. She stood up with a sigh, then ripped the shredded clothing off her body. It had been a gift from Ruby, but had been torn, ruined, when she ran from the scene.

The rain washed away the grime from her body, cleaning her wounds. She took a deep breath, stretched out, and let out a wild scream of hate and anguish. She would survive, and she would return, stronger than ever. She would find out who had killed Ruby. She would make sure that person would never kill again. _Never_. Without a word, she let herself fall to the ground, her body shaking from sobs as she slowly fell asleep in the wet cold.


	21. Chapter 21

"So, we're stuck with the blame for this fiasco. Not to mention a lack of people to interrogate."

"Yes sir," Surge said. "At least we managed to steal those files."

"Can we trust them?" Giovanni asked. "They may be fake. After all, they had those decoy vehicles and murdered some of their own men."

"We don't know if it was them," Surge replied. "Our scientists are busy with the files right now, we'll see what turns up."

"More importantly, one of our friends is dead," Silver interrupted. "I want to know who did it."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Giovanni asked in a tired voice. "I would love to help you, but in that chaos it could have been anyone. Association guards seems most likely, since our men were told to leave any dexholders alone."

Silver paced back and forth for a few seconds, then walked over to the door.

"Tell me right away when you figure out what the files say."

He left the room with a queasy feeling in his stomach. He wanted to trust his father, and the others, but could he? He had to, of course. At least for now.

* * *

Red and Yellow were making their way south, towards a meeting place they had decided with Gold and Crystal. They had received a message, containing cryptic hints that they should meet the other dexholders at a certain location near Viridian.

"I wish we could fly," Red sighed, batting another branch away. "This forest is too thick."

"We need to keep a low profile," Yellow answered, looking back over her shoulder. "Do you want to rest for a bit?"

"Do you?"

"Not really," Yellow replied, biting her lower lip. She wanted to see Crystal as soon as possible, and Gold as well. She wanted to get far away from those mountains. Most of all, she wanted to go home. Live a life in peace, together with Red and the others. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she felt her knees weaken.

"Yellow!" Red yelled, catching her as she fell. He held her close, trying to soothe her.

"It's not fair!" she whispered, between sobs. "They were too young. _We're _too young!"

"It'll be alright."

"Not for Ruby! And Sapphire, even if she's still alive..."

"I'm sure she made it out," Red told her. "We'll find her. I promise, we will."

She took a couple of deep breaths, leaning back against Red's chest. There had been little time for sleep after escaping. Her body felt heavy. She shut her eyes, just for a second...

_I must have fallen asleep_, Yellow thought to herself. Red was sitting behind her, and she was leaning against him. The amount of light in the sky seemed unchanged.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"I was just about to wake you up," Red replied. "You fell asleep, so I carried you to the nearest tree, so I'd have a backrest while waiting for you to get some rest. It's only been about an hour, but we should probably continue."

"Yes."

"You want something to eat?"

"... Yes."

"Alright, just sit against this tree," he said, edging himself out from behind her. "I'll go through our bags, find something."

She sat there, watching Red go through their bags. He found a couple of energy bars and a piece of chocolate, then started digging for something to drink. She wondered how she would feel, if she was in Sapphires situation. Assuming the younger girl was still alive, of course.

Red smiled as he handed her a bottle of water, an energy bar and little more than half the chocolate. She felt a warmth spread through her, and decided to make sure she never had to find out.


	22. Chapter 22

"Esfel, our contact in Association Security, has assured me that the information stolen by whoever attacked our trucks will not endanger our final purpose," the costumed leader of the small circle said. "With one of the dexholders being killed and blamed for the attack, we have room to spare for expanding our influence."

"I had a question about that," one of the others in the room said.

"Yes?"

"Was it really our man who killed him?"

"Does it matter?"

There was a couple of seconds of silence in the room, as all heads turned to regard the man that had asked the question.

"Perhaps not," the man decided. "As long as we achieve our goals, some minor sacrifices will have to be made."

"Indeed, and that brings us to our next question. What to do about the dexholders we _do_ know the location of..."

* * *

As they met up, Red had pulled Gold aside as Yellow threw her arms around Crystal in a friendly greeting hug. He had quickly and quietly explained what had happened in the mountains. The younger boy had listened, nodding seriously.

"We should head east," Gold said. "As far as we know, the Sinnoh dexholders may still be there, waiting for Pearl to recover. We should be nearby, in case they need help."

"We discussed that while on our way to the meeting point," Crystal said, pulling out a map. "It makes the most sense tactically as well, since it is a central hub in this region."

"Sounds good to me," Red sighed. "Yellow?"

She nodded. Red walked over to her, put his arm around her shoulders. It was getting late, so they would have to make a camp for the night. For the moment, though, he felt happy just standing there.

* * *

Dia woke up, realizing he had fallen asleep on the floor in Pearl's room at the hospital. He was leaning against the wall, so his back and neck was aching. In the small armchair next to him, Platinum was still dozed off.

He rose and looked out into the corridor. The building was dark and quiet. Platinum stirred in the armchair. He turned to look at her, then frowned. There seemed to be some commotion outside the window. Platinum woke up as he walked past her.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Not sure," Dia replied, pulling the curtain aside. It was dark outside, but vehicles illuminated the front of the building. Two media helicopters flew past, aiming their beams of light at the window. Dia backed away, blinking and letting the the curtain fall back.

"That can't be good."

"Platinum Berlitz!" came a voice from outside, from some megaphone. "You and your two partners are under arrest for incitement to violence, theft and assault. Compliance and assistance will be taken into consideration at your trial. Surrender, now."

"There has to be a mistake," Dia said, shrugging. "I am sure that if we go out there-"

"If we go out, they will lock us away," Platinum interrupted. "Remember those news we watched earlier?"

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know," Platinum confessed. "I just need some time to think, and-"

They heard a crash in the corridor outside, then a half dozen Association troopers crashed in through the door. They were trapped, and all out of time.


	23. Chapter 23

"My friends, this is a crisis we are in indeed," the speaker said, his voice echoing slightly in the massive Association meeting chamber. "Our nation has always been defended both by gym leaders, and by the brave young men and women known as the _dexholders_."

He paused for effect, before continuing in a stronger voice.

"Regretfully," he said, "one of our defenders has been killed. Caught in the act, destroying Association equipment and killing innocents! If not even the dexholders can be trusted, then who can? Well, you may say, surely we can trust the gym leaders. They have always supported us."

The speaker paused again, performing a slightly exaggerated shrug, while looking out over the audience. Some looked angry, or upset. A majority, however, were listening intently.

"Need I remind you," he continued," that the father of this criminal is a gym leader? That his friend is not only a gym leader, but a dexholder _as well_? Even as we speak, several of the dexholders are missing, refusing to swear loyalty to the nation. Another three are being arrested as I speak, for inciting the riots in Saffron the other day. Clearly, we need a defense that is _separate_ from the influence of these criminals. It is my hope that you will all agree when I say we need to vote for the creation of a Pokemon Association army, to-"

His speech was drowned out by shouted arguments, and thunderous applause.

* * *

Dia was just about to call out a Pokemon and launch an attack against the Association troopers, when the front two crumbled on the floor in front of him.

"Hey guys," one of the others said, removing his helmet. In his hand, he was holding what looked like a baton.

"Gold?" Platinum gasped. The remaining three troopers also removed their helmets, revealing themselves to be Red, Yellow and Crystal.

"We have very, very little time," Red said, crouching down to start pulling the armor off the two unconscious troopers. "You two need to pull these on, then we'll figure out how to get out of here. _With_ Pearl."

"Right," Platinum replied, instantly obeying. Dia did the same, although slightly slower. While they got their disguises on, Gold pulled the two troopers away from the room entrance, hiding them behind the bed.

"Done," Dia said after a while, tightening a strap to make sure it looked as supposed to. "This won't fool anyone for long, though."

"Alright," Gold said, joining the five others at the door. "Anyone got a plan?"

* * *

"Because of the urgency of the situation, a vote on the matter will be held," the chairman of the Association meeting announced. "The three options available is to either support the creation of a new Association army to deal with the crisis, to delay the vote about this, or to not form an army. This meeting will resume after a thirty minute break, and in this second part we shall hold this vote. You may now leave the chamber."

* * *

Dia and Crystal carried the stretcher they had placed Pearl on out through the back door. Several other troopers quickly swarmed up to them, miraculously not recognizing their faces through the darkened visors.

"The truck over there has room for the wounded one," one of them told them. "Be careful, the boss wants to use him for extorting the others a bit. Did you see the two other brats?"

"We did," said Gold, who was wearing the group leader uniform. "They are pinned down in the hospital diner. The others are keeping them in place, but they'll need backup."

"Got it," the other man said, hurrying away. Dia and Crystal carefully placed Pearl in the vehicle they had been shown, then climbed in next to the stretcher. Platinum, having exited the building with them, stood ready at the passenger side of the truck. Gold approached the driver side and, upon reaching the door, send a message to Red's pokegear.

About two seconds later, Red and Yellow ran out the back door, having hid near the exit of the hospital.

"Bomb!" Red yelled. "There's a bomb!"

Everyone except the dexholders threw themselves to the ground. Gold yanked the driver's door open, threw the driver out and took his place. Red and Yellow jumped in the back, pulling the door shut.

"Go!" Crystal shouted. Gold slammed his foot down, and the vehicle shot forward like a bullet from a gun. Meanwhile, the real Association troopers seemed to have recovered from the shock. The truck rocked as an attack hit it, but the dexholders were far enough away to avoid the second and third attacks.

As they sped through the forest, they all sighed in relief at getting away safely. Because of the media attention, the agents that had been sent had no airborne backup. They all relaxed for a while, until Crystal broke the silence with a sobering thought.

"We need to change transportation soon," she said.

"What? Why?" Gold demanded. "I like this thing."

"It's an official Association vehicle! It might have a GPS tracker."

"Oh," Gold said. "Yeah, I guess that'd be ba-"

Their conversation was cut short as another vehicle rammed them from the side. The truck twirled around. Suddenly, everything seemed to be upside down...

* * *

_Authors Note: This is the second-to-last chapter of Part 1!_


	24. Chapter 24

"The vote results are in. We won."

"As expected," the leader of the small group said, nodding in satisfaction.

"The army will be created, and one of our men will lead it," another said. "Then what?"

"We will be patient. When the machine is finished, no one will be able to stop us. Until then, we will be very, very careful... But take any opportunity we can get."

There was a general murmur of agreement. The meeting was over, so most of the members filed out. Left in the room was only the conspiracy leader, and a woman.

"Jennifer," he said, giving her a smile. "What did you think of my speech today?"

"Very good sir," she replied, giving him a nod. Her face was one of constant focus, never smiling. "It seems to have had the desired effect."

"Are you going in my direction?"

"Yes."

"Would you join me, then?"

"I'd be honored to," she replied, falling in beside him as they walked down the hallway outside their regular meeting room. He found the woman slightly troubling, but her influence was well known to every member of the conspiracy. They needed her money and expertise.

"The project is proceeding as planned, I hope?" he asked. She nodded, barely visibly.

"Some parts are slow to build, but we are getting there. A month at most."

"Very good," he said, giving her a kind smile. One more benefit of having the woman on the team was that she had nearly no imagination. She was a technical genius, but only when things were logical and she did not have to make anything up herself. This made for far less questions.

"This is my destination," she said suddenly. "Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye Jennifer," he replied. "See you next week."

He sighed and stretched out his arms. It had been a busy week. He turned into another corridor, deciding to go down to the cafe to get a cup of tea. He had barely taken five steps into the new corridor when he heard a soft _thump_ behind him.

"Sir?" a voice said. He spun around, but no one was there.

"Who-"

Something fell from the roof, hitting him. An arm tightened around his neck, making it difficult to breathe for a couple of seconds. Then, the grip slacked slightly, and a sharp knife pressed softly against his throat.

"Scream or struggle, an' ya die. Understood?" his attacker said. The voice was female. The hand looked a bit rough, as if it had been used for hard labor. The woman had dirt under her nails, no nail polish.

"I understand," he said. She pulled him into a small closet further down the hall, pushing him up against the wall. He felt a sharp pain as the point of the blade was put against his lower back instead.

"If this is about money," he started, but she interrupted him with a snorting laughter.

"Money?" she hissed. "This ain't 'bout money. I know what yer up to... Aronsson, was it? Yer activities has cost me something ya can never replace."

"I'm sure we can make a deal!" Aronsson said, panic creeping into his voice. This was no way to die, at the hands of some mystery woman in a cleaning closet!

"Well, ya don't have much of a choice, do ya?"

"W-what do you want?"

"Ya will arrange another convoy," the woman said. "An' ya will leak the route an' info 'bout it to Team Rocket."

"Why?"

"'Cause I need to find them," she said, simply. He felt her push something into his hand – a small data disc.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Map, details. Ya will tell no one 'bout this, or I'll show the world the proof I have of yer conspiracy, got it?"

"Alright, alright!" he said. The knife in his back disappeared, and he heard hasty steps behind him. After a few seconds, he dared exhale and turn around. There was no trace of anyone, apart from a large, green leaf...

* * *

… the vehicle landed on it's wheels again, somehow still with enough forward momentum to shoot forward as they landed. Gold wrestled with the steering wheel, cursing as it jerked back and forth.

"Get us out of here!" Crystal yelled at him. "Stop fooling around!"

"I'm trying!" Gold shouted back. Pokemon attacks slammed into the side of the car, nearly turning it over again. Dia and Red were holding Pearl in place, while Yellow checked to see if he was injured further when the vehicle flipped.

"How is he?" Dia asked, giving her a concerned look. She shook her head.

"Not sure. Seems to be no problem, but hard to say when it's so bumpy."

"Gold, how're we doing?" Red asked.

"Uh, not sure. I don't think they have any airborne stuff following," Gold replied, looking into the rear view mirror. "Tunnel coming, might be able to shake them."

"I've got a better idea," Yellow said. She stood up, slamming her elbow into the roof hatch of the car. Nothing happened. "Um, Red?"

"Right, hold on," he said, getting to his feet. He tried the same thing twice, with no effect. The third time, the hatch flew open. Yellow got to her feet, careful not to touch the wounded Pearl, sticking her head and most of her upper body up through the hatch. An attack narrowly missed her shoulder, but she did not cower. Instead, she pulled a pokeball from her belt. When they entered the tunnel, she released Gravvy on the roof of the car. The vehicle was instantly weighed down, and she heard Gold swearing from the drivers seat, but she ignored that.

"Gravvy, punch the tunnel ceiling!"

The large Golem did as asked, slamming its rock hard fists into the concrete above them as they passed. For several seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Then, Gravvy hit a weak spot. Cracks spread through the ceiling, dust filling the air. She just had time to call Gravvy back into its pokeball before Red pulled her down through the hatch again.

"Go faster!" he shouted at Gold.

"Faster?" Gold replied. "Are you insane?"

"Trust me!"

Yellow nearly fell over as the vehicle accelerated while she was climbing back into her spot. Ton after ton of rocks and gravel crashed down behind them, echoing through the tunnel with incredibly loud rumbles.

"There's light ahead!" Crystal said from her place behind Gold.

"I see it," Gold replied weakly, obviously trying hard not to panic as the cave in got closer and closer to their rear. Platinum, sitting next to him, was holding on to the dashboard so hard her knuckles were white.

The vehicle nearly managed to get out without damage. A single rock hit it, denting the roof badly and sending the car into a spin. Gold fought with the wheel to regain control, but the wheels on the left side, having been damaged as the car rolled earlier, came loose and bounced away. Their vehicle slid to a halt with a screech, leaving them all in stunned silence.

"Next time, I'm driving," Crystal muttered.

"Next time I'm taking my bike instead," Gold replied, opening his door. It fell off its hinges and hit the ground with a clanging thud.

"We have to get out of here," Platinum reminded them. Yellow opened the back door, letting Crystal out. Red and Dia followed, carrying Pearl on his stretcher. Platinum hurried after the two, while Yellow waited as Crystal managed to calm Gold down a bit after the rush of adrenaline that had come from their escape. Despite their successful rescue, none of them felt much happy, and they all disappeared into the forest under silence.

* * *

"Sir?"

"Surge? Come in," Giovanni replied, looking up from a stack of documents.

"Am I interrupting?" Surge asked, an uncharacteristic seriousness in his stance and tone.

"Not at all," Giovanni assured him. "Did something happen?"

"Sir, we... Finally managed to figure some things out about the machine. Or rather, one of our engineers did."

"We know the purpose?"

"No," he admitted. "There are many possible, but we don't know which the Association might be aiming for. First off, they may have sent up satellites, via a privately owned company."

"What type of satellites?"

"We're not sure, probably a relay for the machine itself."

"Which is?"

"Also unknown. However, the files we stole seems to suggest some kind of energy amplifier and sender. They also contain a bit of research about Pokemon energies."

"And the conclusion?"

"Our researchers are a bit split about that, but there seems to be one more... common idea. Sir, they say it could be used to remotely control Pokemon. Together with the satellites, over a large area. They could stop us without even lifting a finger, if that happened. They could-"

"If this is true, then this is bigger than just Team Rocket," Giovanni interrupted. "However, no one would believe an organization like ours over the Association."

"Sir, we have to stop this machine _at all costs_. Not just for Team Rocket, but for the safety and freedom of everyone in the Pokemon Nation."

"Agreed," Giovanni said, nodding. "Prepare a team. Don't tell my son or any of his friends, I don't want them involved in this if possible."

"But sir, they're-"

"That's an order."

"Very well," Surge sighed. "I hope we're enough then, because once we fall..."

"We are Team Rocket," Giovanni said, giving him a tired smile. "We never fall."

Surge hesitated a moment, then returned the smile with a full-blown grin.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

Part 2, Chapter 1 will be uploaded tomorrow (hopefully). Hope that any readers have enjoyed the story so far and are looking forward to it continuing!


	25. Part 2

Notice:

Part 2 has now been added to the site, under the name "Splinters, Part 2: Conquered".

I hope that everyone that has read the story so far has enjoyed it, and that they will continue reading the second part to find out what happens next in this story, and how it ends.


End file.
